Surprises and Awards
by bandielove
Summary: a threat has risen but this time Ratchet and Clank need help. They must find a way into the Awards show with out causing too much attention upon themselves. Along the way Ratchet finds surprises that are even too shocking for him. RatchetXOC
1. Chapter 1

Ello! Your author here. I'm just sticking around to make my stories more interesting. I love it when authors talk to you in the stories but I read all these stories that just have you jump right in and they don't say anything to you. That's no fun

Anyways, stick with me here. This story is kinda long (In my opinion) and it starts out slow but it gets interesting, I promise you that!

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything. All rights go to where they belong, including songs, characters, etc.**

"_Hello and welcome back to tonight's edition of __The Top 1000 Surprises in Music History,__ brought toy you by The ShowBiz Channel, the only channel to let you know more about your favorite stars 24/7. Bryan Secrets reporting._

_ "We have just reviled 999 of the most amazing surprises including, Courtney Gear's revolt against living organisms, identity problems with Anna Santana (or should I say Missy Cyrcuits), and Justine Beaver who posed as a teenage boy but is really a twelve year old girl. Now we are closed up on our number one spot! Does anyone remember this familiar song?"_

_Screen turns to a stage. On it, a piano and its player sit in the right corner in front of a large, rectangular, white wall made by cloth._

"_I know I Can't take one more step towards you/ cause all that's waiting is regret/ don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore/ you lost the love I loved the most/"_

_As the words begin to be sung a spot light from behind the wall slowly fades on. It makes the silhouette of a woman singing the words. She stands in the center of the circle the spot light made._

"_I learned to live half alive/ and now you want me one more time/"_

_ As that phrase was sung, the figure turned her head slightly to the music. You could see her moving her mouth to the words and a tuff of hair that hung over where her eyes would go. Something was towards the top back part of her hair, but it just looked like a pony tail pulled back that swayed as she moved._

_ Flash back to announcer "That was part of a performance the Vox Network had set up to announce a new and upcoming star. This live performance was held right before the final episode of the networks popular __Dreadzone__. What's the surprise? Many had heard the voice of who Gleeman Vox, the networks president, simply called 'Rayne' but he had yet to release a face. That night it was planned to finally find out who the rising star was… until this happened."_

_ They show the stage once more. The music is a bit more intense and the silhouette has what appears to be a knife in her hand. "I wished I had missed the first time that we kissed/ Cause you broke all your promises/ and now you're back/ you don't get to get me back/" The figure had stabbed into the white cloth that made the wall while singing. She tore down splitting the entire thing in half. Smoke filled the area and she dropped the knife. It looked like she was stepping through the cloth when smoke was cued to cover her to make even more suspense. The music continued, but no more words were sung. The smoke cleared and everyone froze on stage. The woman wasn't there._

_ "No one knows exactly how or where she ran off to with out being spotted. It was truly an astonishing disappearing act. An invitation to the Titanium Universe Awards was sent to Gleeman Vox, her manager, for her to perform on the show that year. Ever since this incident, she has been invited back every year if she ever changes her mind to join the pop culture world of the celebrities. Our inside sources say that the invitations are being sent to Vox's nephew ever since his passing away"_

"Ratchet?" Clank called out as he stepped out to see the glowing holo-vision on, "its three in the morning. What are you still doing up?"

Ratchet had been lounging on the couch half asleep the hole time. "sorry, I couldn't sleep so I came down to watch something."

"Ah, rotting away the last of your brain cells I see." Clank said as he came over to the couch. He hoped up on the empty spot next to Ratchet's feet.

"I guess so, hey did you know of some performance thing before our escape on Dreadzone? Apparently some super star chick was going to be famous but then disappeared."

"I do not recall. I'm sure if she was working for Vox though she was being abused."

"Nah, sounds like some spoiled brat who didn't get what she wanted" Ratchet rolled over while saying the last sentence.

"We can all make predictions but Ratchet, now is the time for…" the sound of snoring interrupted Clank. He looked over to see Ratchet lying on the couch with his eyes closed "…sleep"

-In an unknown galaxy-

"Hey let go of me!" Courtney Gears shouted as she was pushed through the door into a dark room. She turned to get out but the door was slammed in her face. Turning back around to the room she could see how dark the room really was. There was just enough light from a small desk lamp to see. Around her, shelves upon shelves of books surrounded her, making the walls of the room. The wall farthest away from her was made from a very large window that showed the stars. In front the window was the desk that held the lamp and in between the desk and the window was a figure.

"Ah, Miss Gears," the figure spoke. She was easily seen as a woman but she had more of a human figure than anything else. It was too dark to see any details about her, plus she faced away from Courtney out at the stars.

Courtney was very annoyed and placed a fist on her hip "What do you want?"

The figure turned her head slightly, allowing light to reflect off her golden hair that covered her eyes and a smirk make be ruby red lip stick. "I understand you are invited to the Titanium Universe Awards this year."

"yeah like every other year. What's it to you?"

"I have a proposal for you." A small pet like creature with long droopy ears and big eyes wondered over to the woman with a paper in its mouth. The woman bent over and picked up the pet, patting its head.

"Look I don't work with amateurs…" Courtney butted in.

"Oh Miss Gears," the woman cut Courtney off before she could say anything more. The woman turned and faced Courtney but not showing her eyes, "I'm sure if you are bent on revenge, this will interest you. Do you know of a young Lombax?"

"You mean the annoying fuzz ball that almost killed me?"

"Precisely. A little birdie told me Mr. Xeno is looking to represent him."

Courtney's eyes got wide "Mr. Xeno? THE Mr. Xeno! How could he choose that rat?" she slammed her fist into her hand.

"You seem very upset over this."

"I should be the one he represents! Not him!"

"well then," The woman took the paper form her pet and walked up to the desk. She unfolded the paper and held it under the light showing a picture of Mr. Xeno. Her hands were made of blue scales while her nails were long and pointed at the ends. "Don't you feel if you cant have Mr. Xeno no one can?"

She let Courtney think for a period of time. Telling her over and over how it wasn't fair for Mr. Xeno to choose favorites. "So how about you help me expose of Mr. Xeno at the Awards Show. That way no one will ever end up like up again, being treated unfairly and all"

"You want me to kill him? How am I supposed to do that?"

"All I ask is to take one of my men in as a date. He will do the dirty work while you're on stage."

Courtney thought it over for about half a second. "This can't just be anyone. He has to be cute." She messes with her hair and looked at her hand to inspect her nails while talking.

The woman snickered, "Oh, Alphonse…" The door behind Courtney whipped open and she turned around slightly surprised. In the doorway stood a tall robot that looked almost like a god. He had a chiseled chin, a full chest, and small gold wires that were long and thin to make it appear like he had hair. He spoke with a clear, muscular voice "yes madam?"

"This is Miss Gears." The woman gestured at Courtney and then said, "Will this do?"

Courtney was drooling over Alphonse "Yes definitely."

"We have a deal then?" the woman stuck out her scale covered hand.

Courtney dropped out of dream land and looked at it with disgust "What's your name again?"

"Please, just refer to me as 'Madam'."

"Alright 'Madam'," Courtney grabbed her hand with two fingers still show how disgusted she was by touching it, and shook it up and down, "You got yourself a deal."

Author: not too long right? Okay will post next one up as soon as I can. I got senior thesis stuff to worry about too.

Song: Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri


	2. Chapter 2

So I should explain. This takes place after a Crack in Time and is NOT ratchetXtalwyn. I really do not like her all that much. She just kinda annoys me… ANYWAYS there are spoilers if you haven't played any of the games so be careful. Read at your own risk.

Second, I have no Idea why my page breaks didn't work, if someone wants to explain that to me please do. I'm just going to put them in manually from now on.

Ratchet had a tool box at his side as he took this wrench to Aphelion. Clank had eventually wondered out to see what he was up to. "What's wrong with her this time?" Clank asked Surprising Ratchet.

"Would you quit sneaking up on me like that? And nothing is wrong with her. I'm just replacing the cooling unit in her torrents so they won't heat up as fast."Ratchet spoke as he took a step back from Aphelion. " Hey would you do a favor and turn the radio on or something? This silence is killing me. "

"Alright," Clank hopped up onto the seats. "Just as long as you secure the…" a small beeping noise interrupted him"… Ratchet, Incoming call from Talwyn. "

"Just answer it, I'm listening I swear!'

Clank pressed a few buttons and Twalyn's face appeared on the small screen "Good evening Miss Apogee." Clank greeted her.

"Oh, hey Clank!" Talwyn said with a large smile. "Just checking up on you two. Is Ratchet there?"

"Over here!" Ratchet hollered so Talwyn could hear.

"He is attending to some maintenance work. Perhaps there is something I can help you with?"

"Actually, we do have a slight situation…"

"HEY! Who's there? OH! Is that Clank?" Captain Quark had bumped Talwyn out of camera view and was now speaking to clank

"Hello Captain Quark, glad to see your, uh… healthy"

"Why thank you! I have been working out. Where is Ratchet?"

Clank looked over to Ratchet who was shaking his head back and forth with a desperate look in his eyes.

"Well… he is… busy at the moment"

"Get out of the way you giant green lug!" Talwyn exclaimed as she pushed Quark out of her way. "Look I just need you two to get over here as soon as you can. I have something to explain."

"Alright Miss Apogee, we are on our…" but before Clank could finish, it looked like Quark had tied to push Talwyn out of the way again, but this time she shut it off before he could. "…way."

Clank looked at Ratchet who rolled his eyes and closed up Aphelion. "Let's just get this over with. The situation is most likely Quark." Ratchet said as he dusted himself off on and leapt into the seat next to clank.

Aphelion landed and Talwyn and Quark greeted them outside of the space station

"So what's the problem?" Ratchet asked after they entered the safe haven of Talwyn's home

"Well, a few hours ago we received a distress call from an unknown source." Tawlyn continued as she fiddled with her holo-vision. "Well, it was less of a distress call rather than someone sending us information."

"What do you mean?" Ratchet Questioned

"When we listened to it, it was just a recording of two women's voices."

"What is wrong with that?" Clank asked

"Take a listen," Talwyn answered and she pulled it up on the holo-vision set. There were no faces, but they could hear the words. "THE Mr. Xeno?... Help me expose of Mr. Xeno… it isn't fair… The Titanium Universe Awards… you got yourself a deal."

The recording was obviously edited to only play certain parts, but it was enough.

"Isn't Mr. Xeno that famous agent who 'makes stars even more popular'?" Ratchet asked.

"Yes, and everyone wants to be represented by him. I'm not sure why they would target him." Talwyn answered still thinking of why.

"Well, the voice of the first woman was Courtney Gears." Clanks said. "I'm sure if she is planning on harming anyone, innocent lives could be put in danger."

"True, that is why we have already come up with a plan."

"We?" Ratchet questioned.

"Captain Quark and myself" Talwyn answered with a monotone voice.

"And I have already drawn the schematics for! " Quark boasted about holding a crayon in his hand.

"Yeah, I don't think there is any need for those." Talwyn said pushing Quark out of her way once again. "It appears that the time for them to strike is at the Titanium Universe Awards show."

"Which I, being the biggest celebrity hero, am invited to this year!" Quark bragged

"So what? You're going to send Quark in to protect everyone?" Ratchet asked in disbelief.

"Well no, that would spell disaster." Tawlyn answered. "Quark got a… plus one on his invite" her voice couldn't have gone quieter.

Ratchet's eyes got wide, "Whoa no, no, no. There is no way I'm…"

"Not you!" Talwyn gasped. "I'm going with Quark." She spoke with as much annoyance in her voice like she did to Quark. "I want Clank on recon just in case anything goes wrong."

"So I'm crashing the party then." Ratchet said with an evil smile

"No, that would cause too much attention to yourself and too much security to fight off. We might lose Courtney. We need a less destructive way for you to get in." Talwyn said.

"What do you propose?" Clank asked

"Well there are plenty of guests who have a plus one but no date yet."

"Such as?" Ratchet asked.

"Missy Cyrcuits, the" Talwyn stopped to clear her throat, "'new' Justine…"

_I can see why they don't have dates._ Ratchet thought to himself, but he needed something else a little more polite to decline them "Aren't they a little… young?"

Talwyn wasn't fooled though. "Well if you have a better idea I would love to hear it."

Ratchet thought for a moment. There might be no way out of it. Then an idea hit him "What about that Rayne girl?"

"You mean the singer who bailed out on her show a couple years ago?" Quark inquired.

"Yeah I heard about her last night. All I have to do is find her, use some of my irresistible charm, and I'm in."

"Yeah, sure that would work," Talwyn said sarcastically, "and how do you suppose you're going to find the one person who disappeared in front of live holo-vision, and that the paparazzi never even found?"

Oh, Talwyn had him there. Except Ratchet had another ace up his sleeve. "Go straight to the source" Ratchet smile wickedly.

"I do not under stand." Clank said confused.

"Vox has a nephew that took over for him and takes the invitations for her. He's bound to know where she is, and I'm pretty sure we could find him in the shadow sector where the network broadcasts from."

"Well," Talwyn paused for a moment. "I suppose its worth a shot. But the awards are in three days. I can give you two to find her." _Like that will ever happen._ She thought to herself. She looked down on a clip board in her hand that had a list of guests to the awards show "Plan B will be the other girls."

"Umm… Excuse me Miss Apogee," Clank interrupted her. Ratchet was already halfway out the door and shouted back "Three days! Got it!"

Talwyn looked frustrated yet calm as she could be. "It's been a while since he has seen any action hasn't it?" Clank got up to follow his friend "In his defense Miss Apogee, It is all he knows."

Talwyn smiled at the statement and clank stepped out the door, letting it shut behind him.

This chapter seems long, but its mostly wasted space because it was pretty much all talking. Now can you guess who the first character I put in there for comic relief is? Yep its Quark. I couldn't resist. You'll meet the second one later. And I'm not saying its very good humor but its still humor.

I intentionally didn't put Cronk and Zepher in here because I didn't know what to do with them. They just kinda got in the way so I left them out.


	3. Chapter 3

ORANGES! MY HOUSE IS BEING OVERRUN BE ORANGES! We have like two refrigerators and I just keep finding them everywhere! Just thought you would like to know that : )

And my stupid page breaks didn't work last time either so this is what I'm doing now:

=PAGE BREAK=

Ratchet and Clank were searching through the ruins of the station located in the shadow sector. Turns out when Gleeman's nephew took over, he did not rebuild in the same location. Instead of giving up, Ratchet wanted to go scour for any clues. So far they had found nothing except rusty parts and remains if asteroids that has crashed there.

"I was hoping for at least something that might have been linked to Rayne." Ratchet said through his O2 mask to clank who was on his back assisting him with leaps from asteroids. They couldn't bring Aphelion any closer due to the fragment like rocks that surrounded the area, so they had to go out on foot.

Clank spoke up "Ratchet, my scanners show ships closing in on Aphelion. They seen potentially lethal."

"Great." Ratchet said unenthusiastically and pressed a button on his wrist. "Aphelion report, we need to get out of here." Then Ratchet leapt to the outer edge of the ruins and launched himself out into space. Just as he did Aphelion zipped by and caught them.

"Alright," Ratchet said to himself while taking control of the ship, "lets just…" he was interrupted by sudden turbulence. Ratchet glanced back to see hostile ships attacking, most likely an ambush by bandits. "Clank! I need you on the torrent!"

Clank hopped up and began blasting at them. After a while the last ship ran off scared to fight alone. "Umm… Ratchet?" clank asked

"Yeah buddy?" Ratchet replied

"Did you replace the cooling unit correctly?"

"I thought I did. Why do you ask?"

"The torrents are not cooling. In fact they won't stop heating!"

Ratchet looked back to see the torrents glowing a fiery red. "Hit the deck!" He shouted and grabbed clank just before they exploded. They lost control and Aphelion crashed onto the nearest planet.

=PAGE BREAK=

Ratchet woke up with his back on the ground and clank lying across his cheat. He groaned as he sat up. Clank awoke from sleep mode just as he was pushed off of Ratchet.

"Oh no," Ratchet tried to say under his breath. Aphelion was still intact except for the entire back end that was blown out. "It's going to take forever to fix her up."

"Ratchet, I think we have bigger problems to worry about." Clank had a bit of fear in this voice and faced the other way. Ratchet glanced down at him then at the direction Clank was looking at. Off in the distance Ratchet could see an Agorian charging at them. He pulled out his wrench (the only weapon they had) and Clank jumped onto Ratchet's back as he prepared for battle.

As the Agorian go closer, more could be seen following suit, a lot more of them. _I can't take on that many with just my wrench_ Ratchet thought. In slight panic, he activated his hover boots and made off through the grassy planes in the opposite direction. They put a lot of distance between them and the on coming army. That is until they came upon an edge of a cliff.

Ratchet looked back to see the Agorians still after them. Then he looked down the cliff and out into the horizon. The sun was setting and the planet looked like it was completely made of random planes that shot straight up or fell straight down. Ratchet didn't have a choice; he would have to come back for Aphelion later.

"Get ready for a halo jump Clank!" Ratchet shouted. Then took in a deep breath and jumped off. He spread out his arms and legs to maintain balance. A small house was spotted out in the distance, Ratchet decided that was there only chance for help.

-Meanwhile-

"_Did you see that? That thing just jumped off a cliff!"_

"_Which means if it survives it will be on its way over here."_

_They could still see it falling "Prepare for battle."_

=PAGE BREAK=

Wow, this one was short, but that's okay.

You know how in Tools of Destruction you had to fight off pirates and Ratchet would shout at clank to get on the guns? Yeah that's what I used. And if you can recall who the Agroians are, I give you a virtual cake.


	4. Chapter 4

Okay people make me happy! I have some stuff I will say at the end

I know I haven't been bugging you to R&R but I have not told you not too. So I would like it if I got some sort of feed back.

=PAGE REAK=

"Now Clank!" as Ratchet shouted, Clank kicked on the thrusters to gently land on the ground. Ratchet bent over to take some much needed heavy breaths from all the adrenalin.

"What now Ratchet?" Clank asked after a few breaths.

"I saw a house in the distance. That's our best chance."

Clank wanted to protest but he decided they had no other choice. Ratchet started in the direction of the house. After a while they came upon a small group of trees. On the other side Ratchet could see the building they had been searching for and junk thrown about everywhere that made it look almost like a junk yard. "Who ever lives here must have spare parts, let's check it out." Ratchet stated and made his way through the trees.

"just be…" and as soon as Clank spoke smoke filled the area around them making a dark fog. "…careful. Am I ever going to get the chance to finish a sentence?" clank stated slightly annoyed (**A/N that's four times he has been interrupted. Yes I counted). **

"I'm not sure but stay on your guard." And with that last statement, Ratchet felt something on his back. "Clank?" but no one answered. Clank was gone. The smoke made everything too dark and it made his eyes water. Ratchet could hear something moving out in the distance between trees. Ratchet became too aggravated and lost his temper "SHOW YOURSELF!" he shouted to the sky that echoed back.

He never saw it coming, even though he should have heard it because that what his ears were for. Next thing Ratchet knew was back flat against the ground once again. He heard a grunt and a foot slammed into his chest pinning him down. Something came very close to his throat. Even if he could move he wouldn't for fear of the object harming him.

The smoke started to clear and Ratchet could make out purple glowing eyes giving him a death stare. As the smoke cleared even more, Ratchet's eyes got wide and his jaw dropped. The attacker did the same. The attacker was a Lombax, a _female_ Lombax.

She saw him, took one good long look, then practically ran backwards still pointing her weapon at him. Ratchet sat up, still in amazement. She had pure white fur, with purple stripes to match her eyes. She wore a tore up dirty black tank top with gray sweatpants that showed part of her muscular stomach.

A paisley bandana covered her head with her ears sticking out of it. Ratchet noticed that the top part of her left ear had a small hoop that pierced it. Her hair matched her fur (white) and some stuck out of the front of the bandana making bangs that stuck out above her right eye.

He couldn't see it at the moment but her hair was very choppy layered and it was wrapped into a pony tail that stuck out from beneath the bandana. The very tip of it hit the center of her back. The last thing Ratchet noticed was the tall spear that she held in her hands, that were much smaller than Ratchets, which were covered in dirty brown leather gloves to match her boots.

They were both knocked out of the staring contest when frantic mumbling was heard. They looked over to see Clank face down on the ground, arms and legs flailing, with another robot sitting on top of him.

"Clank!" Ratchet shouted out and attempted to run over to him. The Female Lombax placed her spear in front of Ratchet to stop him dead in his tracks. He could see the heavy detail that went into the wood carving. The thing that caught his eye was the gleam of the metal the knife was made of at the top of it. In between the wood and metal was feathers that stuck out.

She looked at him with a death stare again. "State your business." She said with threat. Her voice was strong, clear, yet still attractive if it wasn't so serious.

"Umm… our ship crashed and we got chased down here." Ratchet replied a little hesitant at first to tell her. The female Lombax gave him one quick look before moving the weapon out of Ratchet's face. He could see the spear was taller than her, but it wasn't hard to beat. She had to be at least a few Centimeters shorter than him

She then turned to the robot, "Astra, get off of him." Her voice sounded some what amused and annoyed at the same time. The robot named Astra looked almost like clank except the torso had a large red cross on it and where his antenna was, she had something that looked like a nurse's hat. She was a nice shade of peach instead of the whit clank was. Her eyes were also almond shaped and glowed a light shade of blue

"Aww… and I was having such fun too." She said and uncrossed her legs to hop off clank. Looking at her like that she had to be half the size Clank was. Ratchet ran over as Clank popped his head out of the dirt and dusted himself off.

"I'm fine Ratchet." Clank said. He then looked over to the two attackers and was surprised. "how can this be? I thought you were the last Lambax here Ratchet."

"Me too." Ratchet replied

"Then what about her?"

"That 'her' has a name you know." The female Lombax spoke up obviously listening to their conversation. "Name's Erika. This is Astra. And since you two have bee shouting it back and forth, you must be Clank and you Ratchet."

"If you couldn't see them you would mistake them for lovers." Astra wise cracked as she turned on thrusters from her feet to boost her self onto Erika's Shoulder. Erika just rolled her eyes and smiled at the comment. She then turned around to walk the opposite direction. Ratchet and clank saw her hair and long tail slightly bent to prevent it from dragging on the ground.

After a few moments of Ratchet staring in amazement and Clank glancing back and forth from Erika to Ratchet to compare the two, she stopped in her tracks and tilted her head to look back at them."You coming hair ball?" With that statement Ratchet closed his eyes and shook his hear back and forth. Not to disagree but to get focused again

"Uh… Right."

Erika began walking again and Ratchet, with Clank at his side, followed.

=PAGE BREAK=

Woooooooooooooooooowwwww… is this not shocking or what?

So Astra is the second character I added for Comic Relief. I based Erika off of the singer P!nk personality. I really wanted her to be a bad ass. I can never see Ratchet with a damsel in distress.

And I just want to say! I hate finding names! I had no idea what I was going to name Erika when I began this. I seriously have a list of names to choose from and I didn't like any of them. In my note book, I have blanks and at the most 5 scribbled out names because I couldn't decide. Im still not sure if im loving the name Erika fully yet.


	5. Chapter 5

Its three in the morning and I'm on chapter 5. Do you see how suffering I do for you people? My back hurts from being hunched over. But its worth it to go to my traffic section and see how many people have read it so far, you make me feel special and I thank you for that : )

=PAGE BRAKE=

The house was not a house. It was a small bar that they had turned into a home. It was very small, not well put together either. The out side looked like it had been attacked upon many times. It had no front door. Ratchet looked around the grassy fields and spotted its remains sticking out of the ground near by. It looked like it was sacrificed as a shield during a battle due to the steam and smoke still flowing through the air from where it had been hit. Ratchet could help but to ask, "What happened you your door?"

Erika looked from the pile out in the field to Ratchet. "Sacrifices have to be made on a planet of non-stop war."

"Whoa whoa wait, non-stop war?"

"You mean you landed here and you don't even know where you are?"

"Hey, I said we crashed landed."

Erika rolled her eyes in annoyance and turned in the direction of a very large machine in the yard. It reminded Ratchet of the machine he was working on before Tachyon attacked, except hers wasn't as bulky as his was. Astra took hold of Erika's spear and slid down off her shoulder. Erika released her grip on it as Astra took it while making her way into the makeshift house.

Erika picked up a screwdriver from a near by pile of parts and stepped onto a crate to over look the machine.

"Hey, what's that?" Ratchet acted cool and calm and pointed to the machine.

Erika took her free hand and patted it twice on the machine "This is my soon to be baby." A look of glee spread across her face as she said it.

"What?"

"It's a combination of a hover bike and a ship. It's like a bike but, with a thermal suit and O2 mask, you can ride him off the planets just like a ship."

"Excuse me, but why don't you just build your own ship?" Clank asked

"Trying to be a bit more unique, not enough parts to salvage on this planet, and I have always had a fetish for hover bikes anyway." Erika answered while turning her attention back to the hover ship.

"So I get to see her in action then? We have to get back up that cliff some how to recover Aphelion." Ratchet asked Erika, but directed his attention towards clank for the last sentence.

"If you listened before, I said HE is my soon to be baby. He's not fully operational yet, but we do have a plan to bring your ship down here to make repairs." Erika said while taking off her gloves. She then placed them in her mouth to hold them with her teeth as she tightened the lock of hair that held her pony tail together.

Ratchet had a very confused look on his face. _Bring her down here? How can we manage that when you don't even have a ship?_ He didn't have a moment to ask though. Erika hopped off the crate and strolled inside the house. Ratchet followed her, but stopped in the door way in amazement.

Parts and pieces of what looked like machines were piled up in mounds all over the edges of the room. It looked more like a junk yard inside that it did outside. Strangely enough, that was it. The entire building consisted of one room.

A beat up love seat was pushed up against the west wall and it held one pillow and a blanket. An old Bar separated the north wall from the rest of the building, and it also held broken tools and weapons. Behind that was something like a kitchen. It had a refrigerator, a primitive looking stove, the basic needs.

Clank seemed a bit more frightened than astounded when he examined the room. It was almost like a grave yard for him. Ratchet was knocked out of trance when Erika shouted "Catch" and threw a rope and hook into his hands.

Ratchet was again confused. "wha…"

"You'll need that to climb back up the cliff."

"You're not coming with us?"

"No, what am I your body guard now? Do not answer that, rhetorical question." She placed up a hand when it looked like Ratchet was going to answer the question. "Astra, take half the portable teleporter." Erika told her friend then directed her attention back to the boys. "Lead Astra to your ship, she will know what to do when you get there so listen to her every direction."

Clank was still worried. "What about the Agorians?"

"If you're good, they shouldn't bother you." Erika replied. "And don't worry about them taking your ship, they aren't that smart."

"I think he was asking if you have any weapons we could use." Ratchet stated. Erika looked at him with an expression on her face that asked _are you really that pathetic? _But she wouldn't ask it out loud. "You know, for an emergency." Ratchet continued to sound less weak.

Erika thought for a second then spun around to one of the junk piles along the wall behind her. She bent over and the parts went flying over her shoulder as she threw them. Clank saw the parts coming and ducked but they hit Ratchet who stood behind Clank.

Erika stood back up holding two objects and noticed Ratchet on the ground. She laughed at him a little as Clank helped him up. "Okay," Erika continued, "I have a slightly damaged, but still usable, Constructo Bomb. And a… umm… 'used' Blaster."

Used was the nice way to put it. Although still operational, the Blaster was dirty, rusty, and had dried blood on it.

"It will have to do for now." Ratchet said a little bit disgusted.

"We better hurry before night fall."Astra cut in. she held something unrecognizable in one hand, and the spear in the other. "The Agorians become even more aggressive if woken up."

"Fine, but that ruins half the fun." Erika casually said.

"And what are you going to do?" Ratchet asked.

"I have observation work to tend too. Plus I think I'll start a meal so we can eat when you get back."

And with that, Ratchet and Clank followed Astra out the door while Erika could be seen husteling around from behind the bar.

=PAGE BREAK=

She isn't too much of a bitch is she? At least she ahs a good sense of humor.

Ratchet had a ship he was working on in the beginning of Tools of Destruction, then he destroyed it and found Aphelion. That was the reference I was using.

And I had the idea for a motorcycle ship before I played Tools of Destruction. Then I played it and was like "that was my idea!" so I just used it anyway, except his was huge and I want Erika's to be smaller and use more of the hover technology.

And yes, a ship can be a guy.


	6. Chapter 6

I'm kinda getting worried. Not many people have read the chapters after chapter one. Is it getting too boring? PM me or something if you have anything to say. I'm taking it personal that no one has R&R yet. So do it!

One more thing I just want to say about Ratchet's clothes. I like the outfit he was wearing in the beginning of Tools of Destruction. So that is what he is wearing. You'll understand why I said that later

=PAGE BREAK=

The sun was almost set below the horizon, and Ratchet was only about half way up the cliff. It must have rained the night before because the entire side was almost mud. Astra, with her thrusters in her feet, was relaxing that the top after securely tying off the rope Ratchet used.

Remarkably, Ratchet hadn't managed to fall… yet. Each hand held the rope as tight as he could so he had strength to pull himself up with each step he took. A few times the mud caused him to slip, but his hands gripped the rope and he would land face first into the wall of mud. Let's just say, it wasn't going to be pretty if Erika didn't have some sort of bathing area.

While Ratchet was struggling up the cliff, Clank was hooked on to his back keeping quiet. He was in very deep thought, but he spoke up breaking the silence. "Ratchet, do you think Erika is concerned about how late we are running?"

"Well, maybe if someone helped out instead of just hitching a ride, we could move faster." Ratchet grunted

"I am sorry. I did not want you to lose your balance."

"Yeah, sure… why are you worried about Erika anyway?"

"She…puzzles me."

"I know what you mean. She looks so familiar too, but I can't quite figure it out."

"It is quite perplexing."

A few quite moments went by as clank went back into thought and Ratchet slipped a few more times. With each time his grunts seemed to show how exhausted he was, but he still moved forward.

"Hey," Ratchet spoke, "What would you say if we invited Erika and Astra to come with us? To get off this godforsaken planet?"

"What makes you say that?"

"When I asked about her ship, and she talked about getting off of here, she had this look in her eyes like she was daydreaming about it."

"I see. Well it would not bother me, but it is their choice."

Ratchet smiled with joy from hearing that and a few more moments of his grunting continued. They were just about to reach the top."Ratchet," Clank spoke up once again, "Erika seems very independent. I do not know how long she has lived here but she might have grown up alone. And since this is a planet of constant war, she might have had to fight since birth."

"Yeah, and your point is?"

"I just want you to understand that she might not accept your help."

The thought hit Ratchet and he paused for a moment to think. "Then why would she help us?"

"That, I do not know."

=PAGE BREAK=

Ratchet had reached the top and Astra came over to help him. He landed stomach first on the soft grass and was taking in deep breaths. "Just give me a minute."

"We really don't have time for this." Astra replied. She looked out at the sun set and gave him the last few seconds of sunlight until it disappeared behind the planet. "Alright, now we have to get moving if we want to live."

The Lombax rolled his eyes and sighed "Don't worry it's not that far from here." and picked himself off the ground. He stretched out a little then activated his hover boots. Astra stood in amazement. "Hope you can keep up." Ratchet said to her

"Uhh… how about I just hitch a ride?" and she lifted herself onto his shoulder. She held on tight and they were off

Ratchet found Aphelion not that much later. Astra glided off of Ratchet shoulder while Ratchet deactivated his hover boots.

"So how are we going to get her down to the house?" Ratchet asked, kind of worried about what the answer might be.

"With this…" Astra replied with a smirk she had what appeared to be a miniature teleporter in her hand.

"Pardon me, but isn't that rather small?" Clank inquired.

"No, watch this." Astra placed the teleporter in a gap between Aphelion and the ground. On the side was a small button. She pressed it and the teleporter grew larger than the ship.

"Whoa," Ratchet exclaimed, "You invented that?"

"No, Erika did. Now let us go."

"How?"

"It works just like a normal teleporter, almost. Grab onto the ship and we will teleport down to the one I set up beside the house."

Ratchet Grabbed on to Aphelion "What do you mean almost?"

"well it's…stillintestmode" Astra whispered and said the last part so fast that Ratchet could barely hear her. "No turning back now!"

"Wait!" but I was too late. The teleporter was activated and they had evaporated.

Next thing Ratchet saw was Erika's hover ship against the dark grassy planes. He tried taking a step forward but he was dizzy.

"Everyone alright?" Astra asked out loud. Clank and her were, but she looked at Ratchet who was staggering back and forth. "Note to self, organic life effected. Hey Erika! We need some help!"

Erika came bolting out of the house "what's wrong? Did you get…" she stopped when she saw it wasn't Astra who was hurt. It was Ratchet who was acting like a smashed alcoholic. "…hurt. The molecules in the brain must have too much energy to slow down right away."

"Possibly" Clank concluded. Erika and Clank shot theories back and froth while Ratchet and Astra could bee seen in the background. He couldn't hold his balance anymore and fell over top Astra passing out.

"What about the possibility of…"

"Hey! Can some one get him off of me?" Astra shouted interrupting their debate.

Erika and Clank shot their heads back at them, and hustled over to Astra. Erika Grabbed Ratchet's arm and wrapped it around herself to lift him off of Astra. "Sorry."

"Whatever, just get him inside before he, I don't know, throws up or something." Astra commanded and she brushed herself off.

"Alright, write this in the journal though. I will have to make some changes." Erika stated as she began to drag Ratchet into the house.

"Would you like some assistance?" Clank questioned.

"No, I got him." But even with that, she was struggling. Erika had to constantly adjust underneath Ratchet's weight.

=PB=

And it was still in test mode… lol I love it! so what do you know about Erika so far? She's an independent, smart, bad ass. And that is some one you really don't want to mess with. She could kill you and leave no evidence. Scary huh?


	7. Chapter 7

Skyping people while writing this… oh yeah multi tasking!

=PB=

Ratchet woke up to the smell of warm stew surrounding the air around him. His head hurt a bit, but not enough to keep him down. He sat up and found himself on the love seat inside Erika's home. He felt… different, and cold. Most of all he felt _clean_, which was odd because before he was covered in mud.

Ratchet looked down at himself and saw that he was in different clothes. What made it even stranger was that he was wearing the sweat pants and tank top Erika had on earlier, only they were cleaner too. He got creped out as thoughts crossed his mind, but got distracted be noise that came from outside.

He slowly got up and poked his head out the door to see Erika talking into an info bot. She was wearing one of those sleeveless vests that were made out of the thin cloth that hung down low with the lace pattern along the back. It was brown while under it was a white tank top. She still wore her brown boots and gloves, but her pants looked black, almost skinny jean like except for large pockets that hung off the sides..

"Yeah I need those parts and do you happen to have a robotic ignition system?" Erika spoke to the screen.

A voice that was obviously male spoke back to her "No, sadly I don't sweetheart." The voice had a slight lisp to it as well.

Erika placed both hands on her hips. One hand held a clip board "Would you quit calling me that? In no way am I sweet."

"Well at least your guest knows that now."

Erika turned around and saw Ratchet in the door way. "Well good, he survived. Come here, someone wants to talk to you." And she motioned to the info bot. Ratchet walked over and saw the creature she was talking to. "This is Ratchet, the Lombax I told you about. Ratchet this is Quinn Vox."

Quinn looked almost like Gleeman, but he was still very different. They were the same species yes, but Quinn had softer eyes. His teeth were not as sharp, and he didn't have large head like Gleeman did."Erika, can you give us a moment?" he spoke up.

Erika looked down at her clip board and turned away from them, "If I find out you're hiding something from me Quinn, it's your ass."

Quinn rolled his eyes at the empty threat and continued with Ratchet. "Well, well, well, so you're the famous hero that destroyed my uncle."

"Hey, look about that…" Ratchet tried to save himself from being in trouble.

Quinn cut him off, "I want to personally thank you."

"What?"

"I hated my uncle more than anyone else did. He abused heroes and television alike. Plus he never really approved of my personality. Look, even though he was part of my family, I was over joyed when he died and I took over the business. You are a true hero to me. Just don't tell Erika anything about Dreadzone, got it?"

"well, you're welcome. And uh… why?"

"I'll tell you later if we are ever alone." Quinn's voice got as soft as it could be

"Oh, okay." Then something reoccurred in Ratchet's mind. His adrenalin rushed and his voice got loud. "Wait, you're the nephew of Gleeman Vox, the same one who takes the invitations from the awards show for Rayne?"

Quinn was in shock and an awkward silence fell shortly after the question. Ratchet couldn't see it but Erika heard him and her expression was in shock too. She staggered slightly and took a few steps back away from Ratchet. Ratchet was getting annoyed from the silence. "Well?"

Quinn stumbled over words "I… uh… do. Why do you ask such a thing?"

"It's important that we find her lives maybe depending on it."

"Lives may be depending on what?" The voice came from behind them. It was Astra with Clank at her side.

"uh… is dinner ready?" Erika quickly asked trying to avoid the question.

"Yes, but I still want to know."

Erika was caught, and she didn't know how to get out. She went up to the screen Quinn was on. "I'll call you back later."

"But what about…"

Quinn was cut off by Erika, "Look, normally my answer would stay the same, but this could change it. I'll let you know later."

"Alright, take care sweetheart."

"Yeah," She switched the screen off and looked back at everyone. They were completely confused. "I will explain every single thing over dinner."

=PB=

"After Ratchet passed out I was going to examine Aphelion to see about repairs. That's when Astra mentioned how filthy he was from the mud." Erika said. Everyone was around the love seat, while Erika and Ratchet ate.

"So what you gave me a bath?" Ratchet concluded.

"No, Astra did. It was her job as a nurse after all."

"That was before nano-tech though. Before that came in I worked a glorious job at a hospital, helping the sick and injured." Astra chimed in with dreamy eyes. "The hospital got overrun by thugs one day and my escape pod malfunctioned causing me to crash and pass out here. Luckily Erika came along or I would have rusted out there."

"Yeah, back to the subject." Erika brought Astra back to reality. "Your clothes were filthy and I washed them with mine. I gave you what I had, figured it was more comfortable for sleeping. Then I inspected Aphelion. And I have to say, she is a beauty. Anyway, she needs some parts and I called Quinn, he is my go-to guy. I also asked him about you and he got excited."

Clank was about to speak up and answer why but Erika stopped him, "I don't know why, I don't want to know why. That man can be creepy if you know too much about him."

"Very interesting," Ratchet said in between a bite of his stew. "Now can you explain why no one answered my question about Rayne?"

Astra got a little defensive "Well, why don't you tell us why you need her first?" Erika shook her head in agreement.

Ratchet glanced at Clank and took in a sigh, "Well… this is what's going on…"

=PB=

Now do you understand my clothes thing from the last chapter? Yeah I thought I just make it easy. Next few chapters will be dedicated to people. I counted and I think I have about 22 chapters on here. Bare with me please.


	8. Chapter 8

Stupid SIXAXIS! Gah! Make me get hit during halo jumps… thanks playstation… I know you tried, but these halo jumps are impossible for me because of the stupid SIXAXIS.

Anyways, what are we on? Oh yeah chapter 8. This is where the surprises start jumping.

CHEESEY PICK UP LINE IN SPANISH just for the hell of it (and tomorrow is Valentines day) : crees en amor a primera vista, o debo pasarte otra vez?/ do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by you again?

=PB=

When Ratchet explained, he explained _everything_. Well almost everything remembering what Quinn told him about Dreadzone. But he told about how him and Clank first met, how he was hunted down by Tachyon, to how he found General Alistar Azimuth.

"Oh, is that who this is?" Erika interrupted him when Ratchet finished the story with the General. She held up a small pocket watch "It fell off your personnel and Astra gave it to me."

"Yeah," Ratchet answered as she handed it back to him "he's the one on the right. The other is my father." He opened it up to show them. He looked at her and the feeling ok knowing Erika again crept into his mind. Like he has seen her before, she seemed so familiar to him. Ratchet stared at her, and she could feel it.

Erika was getting uncomfortable. "What are you staring at?"

"Um… nothing." Ratchet answered while regaining focus. "where was i?"

"just finishing up. I guess it's my turn to explain things." Erika was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed to give Ratchet and Clank the love seat (like any proper host would do).

"Erika, are you sure about this?" Astra asked reassuringly.

"Well they told us everything honestly. We should do the same."

Astra continued looking at her friend for a few more seconds. When Erika showed that she wasn't changing her mind, Astra nodded her head up and down "You're right."

Erika placed her empty bowl on the floor to her side. She then continued to stretch out her legs in front of her and placed her hands behind her to lean up against her wrists.

"So, as far as I can remember, I was born here. I had to learn to survive against attack at a very early age. Most of the time, the Agorians were attacking me for 'other reasons' than to just kill me." She paused before the word "other" and made quotation marks in the air with her hands.

'I do not understand." Clank stated.

Ratchet cleared his throat and blushed a little "uh… think about it. What appeared to be a young, defenseless girl against a strong looking, male, Agorian." But Clank still looked puzzled.

"Let's just say…" Erika continued "… that the first one who tried something on me, found himself on the ground in agonizing pain, looking at his crotch across the field."

Clank thought for a minute. Then he realized what they were talking about "OH MY WORD!"

Everyone, except for Clank, gave out a laugh at his reaction.

"Anyway," Erika continued through fading laughs. "I pretty much lived like a savage until I found Astra. That's when I got into engineering."

Ratchet still wanted to know more, "Alright, so how do you know Quinn then?"

"This is where I need you to sit back and listen. No more questions until I get through it all, okay?"

Ratchet and Clank nodded in agreement simultaneously. Erika let out a sigh and began.

"We had just settled into this abandoned bar when we were attacked. Normally we would be fine fighting them off, but we were caught off guard. Gas surrounded us and we passed out. When I came to I was alone. All my weapons were taken away and I felt something around my neck that turned out to be a collar. I was then dragged to an office where I met Gleeman Vox and a man who went by the name of 'Ace'. Ace was disgusting. He eyed me up and down the entire time I was in there. I always wanted to thank the person who disposed of him because I couldn't at the time."

Clank was about to say something but Ratchet stopped him and shook his head "no" when Astra and Erika weren't paying attention.

"Besides that, Gleeman told me I had 'volunteered' my self for his show Dreadzone. Ace had a different idea though. He told Gleeman 'Why waste a pretty face?' and he also said something about me not making it through the first round. And for some odd reason, Gleeman agreed with him. He then asked me if I had any special talents. I wanted to say 'kicking ass' but after he finished speaking, he snapped his fingers and one of his thugs had a gun pointed at Astra's head. He obviously didn't want a smart alec remark. I ended up saying the first thing that popped into my head."

Erika stopped and was looking at the ground. After a few second of silence clank spoke up "Which was?"

Erika looked up at the two of them and gave a smirk. "That I could sing."

=PB=

Would you believe that? Would you believe that? Actually, I bet most of you saw that coming….

Oh and I was so close to breaking 1000 words with this… oh well. I love to kill you guys with cliff hangers if you haven't noticed that yet


	9. Chapter 9

Yeah, might as well crank out ten chapters tonight. I still didn't get any work on my senior thesis done, which is bad… oh well!

I GOT ICE CREAM! And now my leg wont stop bouncing up and down…

=PB=

Ratchet took in a deep breath, "So you're Rayne?"

"You guessed it." Erika replied.

"But the figure I saw didn't remind me of a Lombax."

Erika looked at Astra and they smiled at each other. Erika then stood to her feet and smoothed her hair over her left shoulder. She turned to her left to show a profile view and presses her ears against her head. It was an exact copy of the silhouette Ratchet had seen on the Holo-vision. They were stunned as they saw the similarities.

Erika sat back down "I was trying to be deceiving that night."

"So what happened?"

"Well, Gleeman wanted to keep his ratings up and he figured he would save me for an emergency. He had Quinn take over for me since he was dealing with _Dreadzone . _the original plan was to show up as Ace's new girl after he won. Once he was exposed of, Gleeman had to change the plan. I saw that as my chance for escape.

"You see, me being on stage with a collar on would look bad, so they had to take it off while I was on stage. I had made a very good friendship with Quinn by then and he gave me an acid bomb. I used that on the stage floor while the smoke covered me. I managed to slip away under the stage and Quinn let Astra go as well. She was waiting for me in a ship. Some how we ran out of fuel and once again ended back on this planet.

"Later I had gotten hold of a communication system, the one we used earlier, from an Agorian and contacted Quinn. He told us about how Gleeman had been killed and he took over the network. He told us 'if you ever need anything at all, you just call me up'. It's funny, I call him for simple needs and he calls me about invitations to awards shows."

Erika let out a smirk, but still stared at the ground. Ratchet noticed this and thought _she just poured out her life story to us and we are asking her to do the one thing that made her go into hiding._ He needed to say something to her. "Hey, look if you don't want to, you don't have to help us. I understand why you would stay in hiding."

"No, I'll do it. I'm a little hesitant to help but I have wanted to get off of this planet for ever now. I came so close to doing it myself but now I hit a brick wall with my hover ship. it needs a robotic ignition system and Astra isn't programmed with anything like that." Even when she said that she still stared off into space.

"Well if that is your problem, I may be able to help" Clank chimed in. "I was installed with the latest software."

Erika took a moment to think still staring off into space, "We will see." She said calmly then shot down to pick up her empty bowl. "He still needs to be tinkered with. But right now I think its time to clean up." She took Ratchets now empty bowl.

"You still need to call Quinn back." Astra said

Erika mocked her in a high pitched voice "we still need to call Quinn back, don't you think I know that already?"

"Well you don't have to be so rude"

"Well you don't have to be so old." Erika insulted her as she pranced over to the kitchen area

"Well… fine!" that was all Astra could use as a come back.

"Fine!"

"Good!"

"Good!"

Then like they were never fighting in the first place Astra asked "do you need help with the dishes?"

Erika acted the same way as Astra, "Of course, please."

Astra Smiled and Grabbed a drying towel. Clank and Ratchet just sat their confused at the scene they just witnessed.

=PB=

And hour or so passed and Erika was on her way back outside with more tools in her hands. Astra was headed the opposite direction. "Alright, I'm out for the night."

"Okay ," Erika called out. She looked at the boys still in the love seat. "You two might want to do the same."

"Now? What about Aphelion?" Ratchet questioned.

"I'm on my way to call Quinn back right now. The earliest they can get here is early morning. Its best to get sleep now so you can work. Astra, show Clank where the charging station is. You're gonna have to share tonight."

"I'm alright with that, you on the other hand will have the problem of sharing the love seat." Erika did her signature eye roll again and shrugged off the comment.

Clank followed Astra and Ratchet stopped Erika from walking out the door. "Is she serious? This is your bed?"

"You don't see anything else here do you?"Erika replied a bit to aggressively. It was obvious she was annoyed by the question. She looked back at him thinking that he might have another dumb question. But Ratchet sat there silent, but no look of shame was showing on his face either.

Erika called Quinn and told him what happened, "oh my goodness!" Quinn exclaimed, "Does he know about the incident with Ace?"

"No, not even Astra knows about that." She echoed back, feeling a little bit of betrayal to her friend.

"What incident with Ace?" Again, Ratchet had interrupted their conversation.

Erika nearly jumped in the air from shock."NOTHING!" she almost shouted trying to avoid the question. It didn't look like it was going to work so she directed her attention back to Quinn "RSVP me for the awards with Ratchet as my date."

"Alright sweetheart. I'll kidnap you the night before the show for rehearsal. They will expect you to perform, you know."

"oh yeah, almost forgot about that…"

"Wait, she isn't going with me into the show?" Ratchet cut in.

"Oh no!" Quinn said in his ever dramatic voice, "They have had this planned for years now! And you have to follow the rules. Now, a limousine will pick you up Ratchet, and drop you off. Take a few picture and wait for Erika, oops I mean Rayne, to arrive and you will escort her down the carpet. Interview with Bryan Secrets and critiqued by the fashion cops, then go inside have a few drinks and enjoy the show. I will kidnap her once again for wardrobe before her performance."

"That doesn't sound too bad."Erika thought out loud. Ratchet shook his head in agreement. They gave coordinates so the limo would know where to pick them up and the RSVP was sent.

=PB=

I love girl humor… this chapter was dedicated to my friend Nicci because was "fight" like that all the time.

I had to change a lot of it because what I had written down didn't fit in with the story. I still hope this is good


	10. Chapter 10

I never think of anything to say here until after I start to write… its odd…

=PB=

"Alright, thanks Quinn. See you in a few days."

"Love you sweetheart!"

Erika gave the usual sigh of annoyance and Quinn hung up. "He only calls me that because he knows it annoys me." She said to Ratchet.

He just shrugged not knowing what to say to that comment. "Can I use this to call Talwyn?" Ratchet quickly thought. He hadn't spoken to her since he left. He wondered how many times she tried to contact him on Aphelion.

"I don't see why not." Erika said as she moved out of the way. She walked over to usual spot, on the crate next to her hover ship.

According to Quark and Talwyn, whose voices where loud and clear enough for Erika to listen into, the news had been spreading like wild fire already. They knew that he found Rayne, and the rest of the universe knew he was her date.

"This might tick off Courtney more, but she will still follow through with the attack no doubt." Talwyn reassured everyone.

"Okay, Clank and I will hopefully be back by tomorrow evening."

"Why is that?"

"Well we had trouble and Aphelion is nonoperational right now, but we are going to repair her tomorrow."

"Oh okay, well better get some sleep then."

They said their farewells and Ratchet switched the info bot off. Instead of going back inside, he wandered over to where Erika was. It was rather warm for the night, but Ratchet didn't mind.

He was careful not to scare Erika this time, "and so your fame begins…"

She didn't look at him, but she did listen, and eventually answered him "Easy for you to say Mr. Hero."

"Got me there."

"So," Erika's torso was completely bent into the hover ship engine and her toes where just hitting the crate she stood on. "What's the status on you and this Talwyn chick?"

Ratchet leaned up against the machine next to Erika, "We are just friends. Why do you ask?"

"Making sure I don't have jealous girlfriend breathing down my neck." When Erika spoke, she made airy grunts, like she was struggling with something. She stood up and put of the engine holding a grease covered bolt. "I was looking for that the other day." She shrugged and tossed it over her shoulder, and continued back into the engine.

Ratchet cleared his throat, "Question for a question, my turn."

"Fine, shoot."

"Tell me what really happened with Ace."

Erika Froze, still bent in the machine, but quickly replied "That's not really a question now is it?"

"I can put it in the form of a question if you like."

She put both feet on the crate and eyed Ratchet, "It doesn't matter because I'm not going to tell you."

"But you already said you would with the 'fine shoot' statement." Ratchet couldn't have been any calmer.

"How was I to know you were going to ask me something like that?"

"Well, how was I to know you were going to ask me something about Talwyn?"

Erika just stopped and stared at him, "You aren't going to give up are you?"

Ratchet faced her and placed his elbow on her Hover ship with his head resting in his palm. "I never give up." Another moment passed of them just staring at each other.

Erika let out another sigh and decided that she needed to sit down. She dropped down beside the crate and leaned up against her hover ship. Ratchet saw her staring off into the distance, like she had done before. That was her way to cope with stuff, just to stare off and think about nothing.

Ratchet wouldn't allow that though. He broke her gaze by sitting across from her. "Look I know, we haven't known each other that long," he began, "But we know enough about one another for trust."

Erika thought about the statement. She spent an awful long time thinking about it too. Just staring up at the stars, thinking.

"Erika, please…"

Ratchet was interrupted when she finally spoke, "Ace, he… he hurt me. And I could do nothing to fight back." Ratchet knew she meant more than "hurt", He could see it in her face. But he didn't want to say anything about it. If she couldn't bring her self to say it, imagine how much it would hurt for her to hear it.

"I would have normally fought with him to get him away, but Vox made me go out and I had a few drinks and by the time Ace got to me I was drunk. Plus he had the remote for the collars. He used it against me and I was weak." Her voice was cracking and it was obvious she was fighting back tears. Not one of them slipped and her voice dared not go an octave higher than her normal speaking voice."I don't know if its right to say, but I'm glad the bastard is dead." And she stood back up to her hover ship.

Ratchet just sat there on his knees not knowing what to say. Eventually he just got up and went back to the love seat called a bed. He lie there, looking up at the ceiling. _Should I tell her I was the one who killed Ace? Quinn told me not to, but maybe I should. _It didn't take long for Ratchet to fall asleep, still in deep thought.

=PB=

Courtney Gears had been lounging in her princess pad of a bedroom with Alphonse. She was doing anything she could think of to flirt with him, roses, candle light, the works.

The Holo-vision cut into the romantic movie they had been watching, to a news report.

"_Hello, Scarlet Gratch reporting. Big news for the Titanium Universe Awards, something has finally happened that the universe has been waiting years to see. The mystery singer Rayne has accepted the invitation for the awards show."_

Courtney jumped out Alphonse's arms "WHAT?" she crawled to the edge of her bed and listened in closer.

"_The bigger news? Her date listed is no other than the hero Lombax Ratchet."_

Courtney would have turned completely red if she could.

"_Tune in views, Rayne will be performing her famous song as the closing act, right here on…"_

Courtney had thrown the remote at the Holo-vision, causing it to break. "That Lombax thinks he can steal my fame, does he? Well, let's just add a few more casualties to the list then."

=PB=

Wow…. So much more info… and Courtney is REALLY POed.

And if you don't get it when Erika said Ace "hurt", it means he raped her. I honestly had no idea how else to say that with out using the word itself. But I didn't want her to say it because its symbolism for something that happens later.


	11. Chapter 11

So… I'm not getting as many hits as I was in the beginning. Am I doing something wrong? Come on you gotta give me some feed back! R&R dawg!

=PB=

The sound of an engine attempting to start woke Ratchet the next day. "Go baby, go!" was shouted over and over again from different voices. Ratchet eventually stumbled off of the love seat and out side to where he heard the loud screaming.

Clank was attempting to start the hover ship while Astra and Erika stood back, they where the ones shouting. Ratchet noticed something different. He looked to his right and saw remains of crates scattered across the yard. He followed the wall and looked behind the corner to where Aphelion was. She was still there and completely repaired.

After a few minuets of trying to think of what happened to her, he heard cheering and a roar of an engine. Looking behind him, Ratchet saw Astra in Erika's arms as she jumped up and down with joy. He had never seen her like this, so full of glee. It was like she was a different person. _Maybe she is_ Ratchet thought to himself _she had to spend all night fixing Aphelion. I wonder if she got any sleep._

Erika noticed Ratchet staring at them smiling. She basically ran over to him leaving Astra and Clank behind her.

"Did you see?" Erika shouted with joy, "He's up and running!"

"Yeah, hey" Ratchet stuttered, "Did you put Aphelion back together?"

"Yeah, it was very simple. I also found the problem. The compartment where the cooling unit went was loose, causing no connection."

"How long did that take?"

Erika, looked hesitant to answer, but it didn't kill her mood "All night, but that's okay!" she grabbed Ratchet's wrist and drug him over to her hover ship, "It was worth it to get him up and running. I hope you don't mind, but I took some scans of Aphelion and incorporated some of her system into mine."

She pressed a few buttons on the ship, "I would like you to meet, Sinon." His lights lit up and beeping noises could be heard.

"Ship operational." The somewhat familiar voice said. It was just like Aphelion, except a deeper, manlier voice.

"Ha!" Erika shouted out loud, "Who says all ships have to be chicks?"

Clank stepped up beside her, "Now that you have the Lombax system operational, you will no longer require a robotic ignition system.

"That means it time for a test drive! Astra, get my helmet!"

Astra kicked on her thrusters and zipped off. Erika mounted Sinon and adjusted her weight so she could balance. Not even a minute later and Astra was back holding a large helmet that resembled a O2 mask.

"You coming?" Erika asked Astra while taking the helmet.

"Of course!" and with that statement, Astra retracted her arms and legs and attached herself to a hook sticking out of Erika's left thigh pocket.

The whole time Ratchet had thoughts go through his mind. Sure, it looked safe, but what if it turned into a disaster like the teleporter did?

He didn't have time to ask though because Erika had placed the helmet on and shouted through it "Alright Sinon, let's see what you got!" and she revved his engine before taking off.

Sinon, halfway in the air hollered back at her, "I got more than you can handle sweetheart!"

As they drove off into the distance Ratchet and Clank could hear the faint voice of Erika yelling "Don't call me sweetheart!"

Ratchet couldn't help but to laugh at them, "She sure is something isn't she?"

"Ah, but her circuitry is astonishing…" Clank said a bit dreamy. Ratchet looked at his friend disoriented. Surely they weren't talking about the same person.

He then chuckled when he realized who Clank was talking about. "Some one has a crush does he?"

"Crush?" Clank looked at himself confused, "I am not crushed."

"It's just an expression. Anyway, do you know what they did with my clothes?"

"I believe they are in Aphelion."

"Alright, let's wake her up."

"I am already awake." Aphelion's voice was loud and clear as she mad Ratchet jump. "And I must say, Erika is such a sweetheart."

"Just don't let her know that." Ratchet said as he grabbed his clothes.

=PB=

A while later Ratchet came out of the house feeling comfortable in his same, old, clean clothes. Not knowing what to do with the clothes Erika gave him, he left them on the love seat.

Something felt odd. He looked down and realized what he was missing. "Hey Clank, you seen my Nav-unit?"

Clank didn't respond. Curious, Ratchet waltzed outside "Clank?"

"Looking for something?" the familiar female voice asked him. Erika leaned up against a parked Sinon. She faced the sky and stuck out her waist showing it off. Around it was, of course, his Nav-unit.

"Alright, what do I have to do?" Ratchet asked unenthusiastically.

"Simple," She shot him a sharp smile; "You have to catch me." She was off faster than Ratchet had seen anyone move. Ratchet knew that just running after her would prove effortless. So he did the next best thing and activated his hover boots.

He kicked them into full gear and in no time he had caught up with her. He wasn't going to stop though. With so much open area to move around in, there was no reason too. He wanted to surprise Erika anyway.

He blasted up behind her and scooped her into his arms. She was confused and baffled. She didn't know what was happening so she did what she normally does and started to fight out of his arms. Consequently, Ratchet became distracted by the squirming in his arms. His hover boots deactivated and they landed on the ground, she on her back and him on his stomach on top of her.

They were bewildered for a moment, but caught each other in their eyes. They didn't talk, they didn't move. They just sat lied there looking at one another. It felt like it could go on forever.

Ratchet began to feel awkward though when he felt something… from below. He leaned back off of Erika and sat on his knees to examine what was going on. His Nav-unit was now around his waist. (A/N: what did you think it was, you perv?)

He looked back at Erika who was now sitting up, "You are so strange."

"Well, that's very polite to say. But that's okay…" She bent over and grabbed one of his feet from under him, causing him to fall back. "… you can make it up to me by explaining what these are!" Her eyes were wide with excitement as she looked over every inch of the hover boots.

"All I can tell you is that they are called hover boots, and they were given to me."

"By whom?"

"General Azimuth."

"Oh, him again." She let go of his foot and stood up. "I always knew there was a reason I had an extensive knowledge in engineering. I guess it's just a Lombax thing." She said as she walked back to the house. Ratchet followed behind her after dusting himself off.

"Alright, we better get going." Ratchet called out as he approached Aphelion.

"To where?" Astra asked out of curiosity.

"The Apogee space station. We only have one day left until the awards show."

"Can we come with you?" Erika had the kind of begging look in her eye. But she changed it when the others noticed it. She didn't want to get caught looking weak again. "I mean, we haven't tested how well Sinon does in space. But we don't have any coordinates to anywhere, and we might get lost. Plus I would love to meet Talwyn and Captain Quark."

Ratchet looked at Clank and gave him a cocky smile, "She wants to meet Quark, I don't have a problem with that."

=PB=

This chapter was dedicated to my best friends Mo and Anna who are just like that romantic scene. They go from all gooey mush love to acting like little kids, screaming back and forth about how boys and girls have cooties… it's so cute

And haven't you noticed how Erika and Astra always want to test stuff before taking any hazard notes? That's just how they are. Oh, and the engineering Lombax thing, in I think it was Tools of Distruction, Tachyon said something about how Lombaxes used to be great engineers. I just used it again in here.


	12. Chapter 12

I wrote this in the middle of Brit. Lit. Class. I was bored and my teacher wasn't here to help me with research, so… what else could I do?

I know, I'm a bad student some times.

=PB=

Ratchet's evil scheme backfired.

After reassuring with Erika that Sinon was safe for space travel, they followed Aphelion to the Apogee Space Station. He glanced over to the other room where he saw Erika chatting away with Talwyn.

Erika had changed into her thermal suit, but it was nothing more than replacing her gloves and boots with polished black ones and switching out her tank top for something that covered her a bit more. Just some armor, nothing special. Erika also had a long, black leather jacket to match the gloves, but she only wore that when on Sinon.

Ratchet had been stuck with Quark chewing his ear off about impossible hero stories he had obviously made up on the spot. Quark was the one who greeted them when they landed. He also was the one who made a bad first impression.

It was okay when he shook Erika's hand and introduced himself, but the mistake was when he tried the same thing with Astra, while still hooked to Erika's thigh.

Ratchet glanced up at Quark who was sitting on the couch next to him. A faint pink hand mark could still be seen from when Erika slapped him across the face. At least he knows what "too close" is now.

Astra and Clank ran off somewhere to avoid the long boring conversations with Quark. _Smart choice. _Ratchet thought. Once Talwyn saw Erika, it instantly went to talking nonstop between them, girl talk was a more technical term since Talwyn only had guys to talk to most of the time. He could even see that Talwyn was even more excited that Erika, who she called Rayne at first, was a Lombax.

So that just left Quark and Ratchet alone. Ratchet had lost count of the amount of time he had been sitting there, but he had that look on his face that said "Urge to kill rising." Bored and annoyed, Ratchet pulled out the pocket watch Alistar had left behind. He gazed at the pictures as memories flooded his mind, but sadly they left just as fast as they came.

Something bothered him. He raised his eyes from the picture back out to see Talwyn and Ekria. Erika was laughing so brightly, with part of her hand over her mouth as she did. They were deep in conversation, probably explaining methods and theories Erika had when building Sinon or any other experiments.

The background noise changed, but Ratchet wasn't paying enough attention to figure that out.

"Hey!" Quark had gotten Ratchet's attention. He was looking over Ratchet's shoulder at the picture. "I knew Erika looked familiar! Is she related to him?" and he pointed to Alistar.

It hit Ratchet like a box of rocks. _How could I have been so blind?_

He sat there, dumbfounded for a period of time. Then he bolted out of his seat and out the door, drawing everyone's attention to himself. He left not saying a word to any of them. Even Clank and Astra appeared form their hiding spot to see what was going on. Every one was left confused.

=PB=

Ratchet landed on the planet of Torren IV. He activated hi hover boots and made his way to Alistar's home. The place was full of dust and dirt. It was never cleaned, even before Ratchet had first met him.

Remain of Alistar's objects were scattered everywhere. He entered the familiar room full of blue prints and plans. In the corner was an old chest, the same chest that once held the hover boots. Ratchet was on a mission, and he figured that was the best place to start looking.

He flipped it open and started dragging everything out of it. Old weapons, blue prints, boxes that held precious memories, almost everything that once held dear to the elder Lombax.

Ratchet stumbled upon a small, unmarked box. He picked it up and moved to an empty area on the floor. Inside held letters that must have been a significance to Alistar. Each one had either the sender's or receiver's name on the envelope.

One Ratchet found was dense and had the word "beloved" written so elegantly on it. He opened it carefully so it would not rip, the paper was very old and fragile.

He began to read:

_Viviane,_

_My mind has just been a mass of recollection since my exile. Yet, I cannot recall a bigger mistake than what pain I caused you and our people. My concerns only grow stronger knowing how much your pregnancy has progressed. As much as I want a strapping boy, I believe your words as a mother that she is a girl. She's growing stronger every day, and she's due soon. My heart breaks at the thought of my beloved fighting by herself, but I feel that as she grows, you do as well._

The letter continued to spill out every aspect about his desire for her. Multiple letters had the same theme, all except the last one:

_Viviane my beloved,_

_I have found it! The way to fix my mistake that is. But with this wondrous news, ominous information is brought with it. Kaden has told me about your solitude with the refugees. I shall not sit here and pretend that you are not being respected because of me. _

_It shatters my spirit to say this, but it would be for the best if we cease communication and stay distant from one another, not only in writing, but also in heart. It might be painful now, but I guarantee you that life within the other Lombaxes will be less hurtfull if they know you have also exiled me from your heart. I have also asked Kaden to announce his isolation against me to them as well. _

_There is one thing I ask of you that is of significant importance, never let our child know about me. I cannot imagine the stress it would cause her to know she is a descendent of the one who caused the fall of her own kind. _

_Be sure to thank Kaden for every thing he has done for us. I assure you, if I can fix what I have done, we will be together as a family once again. And wish Kaden well in raising his family as well._

_For now,_

_ Alistar Azimuth._

=PB=

This takes place sometime after Alistar got exiled, but before the lombaxes made the trip through the dimensionator, so Kaden is almost playing delivery boy between Alistar and Viviane, who is his wife.

I feel so proud of that letter, it took some stressful time to figure out a more formal way to sound. That's why I dedicate this chapter to my friend Libby. She and her infinite wisdom helped out so much.

How did Alistar get these letters back after he sent them you ask? I'll let you know next chapter, it gets better.


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! They are helping in both my spirits and my writing. No, I'm being serious; I fill up with glee when I see I have a new review… thanks!

=PB=

Ratchet sat on the floor astonished. _He had a family,_ he thought over and over again while trying to comprehend what he had just read. He held the letter in one hand and the envelope in the other. He read the words "stay distant" repeatedly. _He left her to protect her. Is that why he never mentioned her when he was around? _

Ratchet remembered the way Alistar had told him time and time again to remember his family when he was looking for the Great Clock. He now saw why. The whole time Alistar just wanted his family back.

Ratchet lifted the hand that had a hold of the envelope and bent it as he grabbed the other side of the letter. The envelope didn't bend as easily as it should have. Something was still inside. Ratchet investigated and discovered a photo.

Just by looking at it, he automatically knew who it was. A female Lombax smiled while holding an infant. She had a dark grey coat of fur and purple stripes surrounded her face. Her eyes matched the color of the stripes and she wore a soft smile. The background looked sanitary, but it wasn't a hospital like most new borns would be in.

What caught Ratchet's eye the most was the child. It was obviously asleep, but its fur was pure white with faint purple stripes and a very light pink nose. A note was written on the back but not in the same soft hand writing Alistar's notes used. This was harsh and bold:

_Azimuth family night before dimensionator travel. Viviane and child went missing. Viviane was found deceased. Had to assume worst for child._

Chills went down Ratchet's spine. The baby had to be Erika. What were the chances of another Lombax who had the same fur patterns who didn't go with the survivors of the war? _I have to tell Erika._

=PB=

Ratchet wasn't paying attention. Aphelion landed and he jumped out even before she hit the ground. "Erika!" he shouted over and over again while into the familiar space station. Ratchet was inside and saw Talwyn, Clank, and Quark sitting in the same room. They stared at him when he entered, breathing heavily, adrenalin rushing throughout his body.

He looked between the three, "Where is she? Where is Erika?"

"Where is she? Where have you been?" Talwyn asked irritated. Ratchet just looked confused.

"Ratchet, do you realize how late it is? Erika left hours ago." Clank informed him. Ratchet looked stunned again. _Hours ago?_ He tried to thinking about going after her, to track her down and tell her. She had left hours ago though, he was too late.

"No." he whispered to himself. Ratchet slammed his palm into his temple while making a fist and placing it on his hip. What made matters worse was that he ran off with out saying anything more to Erika, she must have been aggravated. "I want to tell her. I need to tell her."

"Tell her what?" Clank inquired. Ratchet handed him the letters with the photo inside of it. Talwyn and Captain Quark read over his shoulder. Ratchet took a seat to give them time to read. He could feel a massive headache coming on.

The three gasped simultaneously and glanced over at Ratchet with uneasiness in their eyes (even Quark).

Talwyn took the things from Clank, "where did you find this?" Ratchet took his time explaining how Quark made him realize why Erika looked so familiar to him. "so you just had a hunch that Alistar might have had something there about her even though her never mentioned anything about a Family?" she interrogated.

"Sounds kind of dumb, but yes." Ratchet replied. "I knew I had to go look. So that's why I got up and left so fast."

"Well what are you going to do Ratchet?" Clank asked

"What do you mean?"

"It says in the letter that General Azimuth did not want his daughter to know of him. Yet, you sprint in here ready to tell Erika who is possibly just that, his daughter. Aren't you going to keep the General's wishes?"

It's a good thing clank thought of that because no one else did. Ratchet thought it over, Alistar did have a point to keeping it a secret. Erika might not handle the grief very well. But how could he keep something like this from her? If she found out, she might think Ratchet wasn't trust worthy, especially after what she told him.

"I … never thought of that" She was strong, she would be able to take in the information if he told her right away, wouldn't she? At this point Ratchet was truly stuck between a rock and a hard place. "I'm not sure what to do then"

Clank pondered for a minute, "how about we just bring it up when the time comes. There is no reason to worry about it now. Plus the next time we see Erika will be at the awards show, and we will need to focus on our operations."

Ratchet had almost forgotten about the awards, and Clank was right. They couldn't be distracted during that. At least, for now, Ratchet had to forget about it. Place it in the back of his mind.

"Well… then I guess it will have to wait for another time." He said as he took the photo and slid it into the watch with the other photo, to keep it safe.

=PB=

Okay, so new born dogs. They are born with small pink noses and when they get older then turn black, and with Dalmatians, they don't get spots until older as well. Think of a new born Lombax as like that. They have to wait for their stripes to grow in.


	14. Chapter 14

The last chapter told us what happened to Alistar's family. Well the note before that said he was going to live in solitude so he could focus on his work and leave his wife Viviane in peace. Well a photo found said that his wife had died and the child missing. How did he get a hold of this information, letters, and the photo when he was exiled? Kaden of course. Even though Alistar asked him to stay away, he came back to tell him the news. I hope that cleared some things up. Any thing else you're confused about?

=PB=

Hours passed and Ratchet couldn't have been even more bored. The limousine was going to pick him, Quark, and Talwyn up soon. Clank was taking Aphelion to pick up Astra for their job on recon. So in short, they were going to hover above the building and drop in when needed.

Apparently, Quinn had much more experience in this award show stuff than Ratchet thought. Only saying because he awoke the next morning to find a tuxedo hovering around with a note from Quinn on it. Quinn was good at planning, he thought up every disaster that could happen, and made a prevention system for it. Sewing kits for wardrobe malfunctions, Nano-tech for medical emergencies, and escape pods for anything else.

Ratchet had been putting on his suit and adjusting his tie when he heard a strange noise from the other room. What really caught his attention was hearing Talwyn shouting "Clank look out!" and then a large thud after. He rushed to the hallway to see a green and yellow mess groaning as she lied on top of Clank. "I… hate… high heels"

Ratchet let out a chuckle and placed his hand out to help Talwyn to her feet. That was nearly impossible because as soon as she was up, she was about to go back down. Clank Ducked for cover trying not to get crushed this time as Ratchet reached over and caught her.

Talwyn balanced herself out, "I also hate Quark." She uttered as she smoothed the dress out. "I tell him to find some thing for me and he comes back with this monstrosity."

She was right. The dress was bright yellow and light green. The top half looked like a cartoonish corset, but the bottom was layered with ruffles that switched between the two colors. Even with the extremely high heals she had on, the dress still touched the floor.

Talwyn noticed Ratchet eyeing the dress with the horrified look and figured he agreed with her, "Oh, it get worse." She turned around and above her rear end was a large, oversized green bow.

"Oh, dear." Ratchet said in shock.

"What? I like it!" Quark popped out of nowhere, "Gives her the southern belle look, and it matches with me! Oh, almost forgot the hat!" Quark slapped a large green sun hat that had a yellow ribbon around it that made yet another bow.

Talwyn was about to lose it. Quark saw this and attempted to run off.

"Oh no you don't!" Talwyn shouted after him and began to remove her shoes. She threw them to her side and picked up the front part of her dress to chase after him.

Ratchet stepped in front of her preventing her from doing so. "Hey, calm down. You just have to play along for tonight. Then, you can kill him after." He said the last part with a smirk.

Talwyn let out an angry sigh and dropped her dress back to the floor to cross her arms across her chest. "Fine, better finish getting ready. The limo will be here soon."

=PB=

Clank left to pick up Astra and followed the limousines to the planet Gallus, the hosting planet for this years Titanium Universe Awards. Talwyn started a system to allow for recon, and gave everyone a small ear piece that not detectible by sight. As they got closer, small flashes of lights could be seen though the heavily tinted windows.

Ratchet made a mental not about calling Erika "Rayne" for the night, he doesn't want her cover blown. The limo stopped and the flashes intensified.

"Ready for anything?" Talwyn asked reassuringly. Ratchet nodded yes, but Quark was hesitant. He eventually realized that this was his time for fame and was trying to push her out the door. It opened and they stepped out together. Quark offered his arm to escort her down the carpet.

Ratchet gave them a few moments of camera time and tried to slip out without getting noticed. Overall, he failed. Camera pointed at him, blinding him with flashing lights. It was only momentarily, eventually another limo pulled up and the cameras focused on the celebrity stepping out.

He regained his composure and saw Quinn only inches away from his face. "Ratchet, come. Eri… I mean Rayne will be here soon." The words rushed out of Quinn's mouth as he twisted Ratchet around and pushed him to another drop off area.

"But what about Talwyn and Qua…"

"No time for that. You'll see them soon." Quinn stopped pushing and walked away leaving Ratchet standing in the middle of the carpet.

Ratchet could hear a reporter behind him, "This is it ladies and gentleman! Rayne is here and we are only moments away from seeing her for the first time! Here with me is her date Ratchet." The woman reporting got closer to him and directed her attention to him, "Our sources say that you were the one who found her hiding, living like a savage on some underdeveloped planet. Any comments?"

Ratchet was stumbling over words as he heard more reporters take an opportunity and ask him questions as well. The only problem was that they swarmed him and asked him all at once.

Quinn, being the savior, appeared out of thin air and simply stated, "No interview will be taken at this time. Please hold all questions until Rayne arrives. Then direct any of them to Bryan." And with that he turned his back and faced Ratchet. "Now, I want you to realize some thing. She is up next for the arrival list. This night is all about her." He spoke while adjusting Ratchet's tie and hair, almost like a mother would.

"When she steps out, offer her your left arm. She will take it and you two will slowly stroll down the carpet, her slightly in front of you for camera convenience. She will let go and pose for a few pictures by herself, then make her way up the few steps over there to a brief interview. You will take her from the interview to the entrance and I will find you for further instructions."

There was so much to remember, but Quinn had it down to a science. Ratchet was about to ask a question but he never go that chance because of the large limousine that pulled up behind him.

"Show time!" Quinn cheered and gently pushed Ratchet to the left side of the door that pulled up. Ratchet looked back, but Quinn was gone once again.

=PB=

-That's what Talwyn gets for letting Quark shop for her.  
-yes, I did have too much fun describing Talwyn's mess of a dress.  
-Quinn is almost like a ghost… spooky

So, its February and the smell of awards season is in the air. Peoples choice awards, kids choice awards, grammys, gilded actors, you know about those. I based the Titanium Universe awards off of the Golden Global awards. I wanted to make it classy. The only difference is that it has got the grammy/peoples choice feel to it because of the live entertainment. I was glad I could make one that combined some awards shows.


	15. Chapter 15

I was a good student to day! I got my outline for my senior thesis done in class ^w^

That and, band practice, woodwind rehearsal, solo rehearsal, ensemble rehearsal, and a competition on Saturday. I think I'm going to stop playing my flute for a while after this week X_X

=PB=

A chauffeur walked over and opened the door Ratchet stood beside. Inside he could see nothing but darkness. Cameras flashed violently and news reporters got as close as they could without toppling over the velvet ropes that separated them.

After a few seconds a pointy toe, very high heeled, white boot appeared at base of the car and onto the carpet. Ratchet turned and offered his arm like he was instructed to do. A slender, fur covered hand reached out and connected to it, to assist with her with balance while standing up. The other hand had a hold of the silver dress, covered in millions of sparkles, so she would not step on it.

She stood and let go of the dress smoothing it out. It hid her toes and made a long trail behind her. It also hugged her body showing all her marvelous curves and muscles. The top came up and covered her chest in the front, but exposing her back revealing the ends of purple stripes that pointed at her spine.

Erika held her head high. She had very little makeup on (A/N: if you can put makeup on a Lombax. The fur would get in the way wouldn't it?), just eye liner around her eyes that made them even wider than ever. Her hair was down from her usual pony tail, it had waves as it was tossed over her shoulder to lie over her chest. Her bangs that normally hung above her eye were now straightened and angled to cover said eye completely. Obviously everything was done at professional level to seem like she was perfect.

The paparazzi went nuts. Security guards held them back as they tried to swarm the couple with questions. Erika gave a half smile as she heard one of them screaming into a microphone "A Lombax! Rayne is a Lombax!"

They were almost down to the interview area what Ratchet whispered in her ear, "are we really such a big deal?"

Erika looked out at the ocean of flashing cameras and answered "Quinn warned you." She then released from him to go up the small flight of stairs to her scheduled interview. Ratchet watched and waited from behind at a good distance so he could hear what they were saying.

Erika strolled casually up the stairs, the training her, Quinn, and Astra put into walking in heels paid off. Bryan Secrets had a large smile on his face and spoke to Erika with a microphone between them, "what a surprise. Rayne is a Lombax, and I must say a beautiful one at that."

Erika plastered one of those fake beauty pageant queen smiles on her face. "Oh, thank you Bryan." She stated through the smile

"Well, no wonder your date for this evening is no other than the Lombax hero known as Ratchet. Tell us, was he the one who found you and drug you out of hiding?"

"Well, yes he did find me, but he did no dragging. I just felt that it was time to let the people finally see the true face of Rayne."

"Beautiful, I hope you got a good guy on your hands. But the one thing everyone wants to know, what happened on that stage oh so many years ago? What made Rayne run?"

"Well, at that time I was still trying to figure out who I was, and what I wanted to do. Although it seemed like I had the perfect career, I still felt afraid. So I simply did what my instincts told me and ran."

To Ratchet, that speech seemed too rehearsed. He knew it was a total lie, but he figured Quinn must have given her tips on what to say. What the audience wanted to hear her say.

Bryan continued with the interview, "Wow that must have been scary for you. Where did you run of too? We all suspect a planet of paradise where you lived out each day freely."

"Something along the lines of that."

"Very interesting. Well, we have run out of time, but we hope to get another talk with you soon Rayne."

"Okay, have a good night." Erika strolled back to Ratchet and took her place on his arm. She still had the fake smile plastered on her face, while Ratchet had a confused look on his.

"Planet of paradise where you live days out freely?" he whispered.

"Tell them what they want to hear, the less explaining you have to do." She said nonchalantly as they made their way to the building.

=PB=

Relatively short chapter with a few good laughs. I just wanted to explain how elegantly she looked, which brings me to my next dedication.

To my drama teacher, Mrs. Imboden. She helped me with the design of the dress and when she told me, I could just imagine it playing throughout my head. Thank you.


	16. Chapter 16

Were getting this party started, right NOW!

=PB=

The doors opened before them and the music hit them like a large wave.

"_Shout aloud/ screamin' loud/ let me hear you go/"_

Erika's eyes lit up with joy and excitement. It was almost like one large party with people dancing, jumping to the beat of the music around them. There was a group of guys in the middle of the dance floor shouting "Fist pump!" with their fists, of course, pumping in the air to the beat.

Ratchet noticed her amazement and smiled, "Some party" he half shouted to her due to the loud music.

"I haven't been to one like this since…" Erika's gaze drifted from happiness to concern for a moment. She quickly changed the subject, "There's Talwyn!" Erika pointed over to a very annoyed looking Talwyn who noticed Erika and waved back at them.

Erika let go of Ratchet and picked up the front part of her dress to hustle over to Talwyn. They gave eachother a quick hug and began to gawk over how each other looked.

Ratchet began to follow when he heard a light beeping sound, "Ratchet, come in" Clank had contacted him via ear piece.

"We have contact" Ratchet said out loud, but not loud enough to get anyone's attention.

"Very good, Astra and I are above the building. Call us if you get into any trouble."

"Rodger, over and out." Ratchet walked up to Erika and Talwyn who were waiting beside the bar area. Behind him, a large shadow was cast over all of them. Ratchet whipped around to see the source of the darkness

A very large, round, tall man, who had a grand smile and soft eyes, looked downat them. He had thick blonde hair in a Conan O'Brien style, and his rather large head was covered in leather like skin that was very tan.

"Well hello there young hero!" his voice was deep, but held a sense of joy in it, almost like Santa Clause. "I am Mr. Xeno." He continued and stuck out one of his hands that only had three fingers.

Ratchet embraced it and Mr. Xeno directed his attention to Erika. "You must be the legendary Rayne." He took her hand and bent over to kiss it. Erika did the stereotypical girl move and placed her free hand over he mouth to hide her flattered smile.

Talwyn excused herself from Erika's presence and pulled ratchet away to speak to him in private.

"Where's Quark?" Ratchet asked before Talwyn.

"I don't know but at least he is out of the way. Now, keep an eye on Mr. Xeno, Courtney could strike at any moment."

"Gotcha."

"Now if you will excuse me, I have to attempt to find my 'date' if you can call him that."

Ratchet chuckled at the thought while Talwyn stormed off.

"Here is my card. Call me if you have any problems." Mr. Xeno was talking to Erika and Ratchet tuned in.

"Umm… alright. I'll see what I can do." Erika continued

"Good, good. I would love to represent the infamous Rayne."

Ratchet heard enough and went over to Erika's side. Apparently he interrupted their conversation by being present. "Hello, _sweetheart_," Ratchet used that word like it was a threat, "What's going on here?"

Erika hated the name, but didn't let Mr. Xeno notice her pain. She retaliated, "well, Ratchet _honey_, Mr. Xeno offered me a business proposition."

Mr. Xeno's eyes sparkled when seeing how well the couple got along. He was oblivious to how they made their nick names sound like insults. He just never dreamed he would get the most intriguing couple in the showbiz. "How about we talk it over a couple of drinks?"

Right on cue, the bartender made three drinks as if they were already prepared. Mr. Xeno took two and handed one to Ratchet. He was offering the other to Erika when Quinn's hand stopped him.

Quinn didn't look happy. He actually seemed quite scary with some darkness that hung over his eyes. But being the actor he is he changed his expression to a calm one. "Please," he spoke wile taking the drink away, "we don't want out star dehydrated before her big show."

Quinn placed the glass back down on the bar and took Mr. Xeno and Erika by their sides, "come, let's go listen for awards shall we?"

Ratchet stood where he was left with his eyes following them out. He still had the drink Mr. xeno had given him. Quickly he reached over and dumped it into a near by plant.

Quinn loomed beside Ratchet once again and said in a very stern voice, "do not let her drink. Under any circumstances."

He shocked Ratchet at first, but he acknowledged his comment. "so how come she doesn't know about me on Dreadzone?"

Quinn acted a little bit over dramatic in his reaction to his answer. But then regained his composure and answered. "It might seem like she can never be harmed, but after the incident with Ace, she wasn't herself for the longest time. She was like a child that was punished for spilling milk. I felt like if she ever knew about another Lombax that killed the one man she wanted dead, she might do something… regrettable." Quinn looked over at Ratchet with concern in his eyes, "Weather you inform her about it is out of my control, but I must warn you. Although she is very independent and strong, she tends to leave her emotions alone, which brings me back to the drinking. Those emotions are released even after one drink. She cannot control them, or what she does."

Ratchet gave out a smirk "High maintenance isn't she?"

"Only when you get into the hardcore emotional stuff."

Ratchet couldn't imagine Erika like that. Lost in a deep depression or crying over a sad story.

Quinn cut off his thoughts when he spoke up again, "I wonder if all men would just fly out of her life, if she would stay like she is now."

"On the verge on paranoia?"

"no, happy."

=PB=

IT'S TOOOOOO LAAAAAATEEEEEE…. Bed *zzz*

Yeah im done for today. Good. Night.

Song: Baby I Like It by Enrique Iglesias


	17. Chapter 17

My candy is talking to me! Oh, wait… its just conversation hearts… my bad.

I'm going to try and get chapter 20 posted by tomorrow. I have solo and ensemble competition on Saturday and then I'm spending the weekend with my friends. Wish me luck!

=PB=

Sometime passed and Ratchet kept his perch at the bar staring at Mr. Xeno who sat beside Erika. They talked quite a lot to each other, but Ratchet see enough to read lips.

The night was about to end and the host made an announcement, "Next up, Courtney Gears!" just as he said that, Mr. Xeno looked uneasy. He excused himself from the table him and Erika were seated at. Ratchet watched him as he headed in the direction of the restrooms. Xeno had to fight his way through though, swarms of screaming fans came running to the stage for Courtney's performance.

Once Xeno disappeared through the door, he glanced back at Erika. They gave each other hard looks, almost like they were trying to talk telepathically. Talwyn told Ratchet he needed to watch Xeno, and that meant following after him. Erika got up like she was going to follow as well.

Ratchet sprang to his feet and fought his way to the restroom, "Clank, come in" He contacted the ship above them. "Something odd is going on. Stay close and keep an eye on things."

Ratchet threw the door open to see Mr. Xeno back against a large robot who held a gun to his head. "Shut the door." His voice rang out like a bell. Ratchet knew Erika was following behind, but he did what he was told. He thought that maybe she was close enough to hear any noise if he needed her help.

The robot (Alphonse) smiled, "finally a challenge." He threw Mr. Xeno against the wall knocking him out. Alphonse stepped closer to Ratchet, who was ready for battle, "Any last words rat?"

Ratchet's eyes glanced around the room, like he was listening to something. Eventually he replied, "Yeah… NOW!" with the signal a large hole exploded above Alphonse sending him down on the ground. Erika kicked open the door hearing the explosion, just barely due to the music, and readied herself for attack. Aphelion flew by dropping weapons down the hole for each of them.

=PB=

Talwyn sat there annoyed by almost everything. The awful dress she was forced to wear, Quark and his voice, the host's awkward jokes, and now people pushing and shoving to get closer to Courtney. Quark was back stage preparing for his presentation of Rayne who was going to be the closing act after Courtney. Something odd happened though.

After the song was over, Courtney let out an evil laugh and made an announcement. "I am the closing act!" She pulled out a remote control with one big red button on it, and pressed it. "Say goodbye you wanna-be stars!"

The Holo-vision screens that normally showed what was happening on stage flashed to a countdown timer that began from five minuets. Talwyn immediately began to contact everyone.

Ratchet didn't reply. Next best option was Clank and Astra, "Pick up recon! Courtney has a bomb planted. Ratchet didn't pick up, is there a problem?"

Astra returned the call, "Um… Ratchet and Erika are busy at the moment… please leave a message after the beep." Talwyn was caught off guard by her joke, but she could hear Clank fight her off the line,

"Excuse her," he apologized, "We will scope out for the explosive. You restrain Miss Gears."

With the plan active, Talwyn pulled her attention back to the stage where Courtney was attempting to escape. A small hover car was pulling up to the stage for her, but Talwyn couldn't get any closer to the stage due to the large crowd. She tried to fight forward but people wouldn't let her pass. The crazed fans were shouting things up at Courtney that went along the lines of, "Take me with you! I'm your biggest fan!"

It seemed like Courtney would get away. Talwyn ahd to think quickly, "Quark!" she shouted over the masses as an attempt to get his attention. Somehow it worked, "Stop Courtney!"

Quark looked down at her like she was crazy. He shook his head "no" a thousand times and hid behind a curtain, cowering in fear. Talwyn slapped her hand over her face. _Could he be anymore of a chicken?_ It was just Courtney after all. It's not like she was menacing to him in any way.

She tried to fight her way through the half panicked fans but failed again. This time she was stuck in the middle, unable to move. "Quark!" she called out. He was their only chance to catch her in time. "Now!"

Quark popped his head out from behind the curtain. He still quivered in his boots. Looking at Talwyn, he reacted differently than he normally would. Seeing her struggling in the masses not being able to do anything, he knew he was the one who had to stop Courtney. He took in a deep breath and courage rushed through him.

The hover car for Courtney landed on the stage and she was stepping onto it. Quark charged up and ran at her, tackling her to the ground. The entire audience froze on the spot. Talwyn pushed through and made her way on stage to assist Quark with Courtney. Cameras rolled, reporters bellowed, this was possibly Courtney's Career-killing down fall.

=PB=

This chapter was shorter than I wanted it to be. But I'm not going to write out the fight screen with Erika, Ratchet, and Alphonse. You've played the games, you should know what goes on in a boss fight.


	18. Chapter 18

Once again, Lady Gaga has inspired me. Don't ask me how; I think that woman is as crazy as she dresses. But her songs are fun. I have another story coming soon after this, so keep a look out.

=PB=

Clank and Astra located the explosive and deactivated it. Soon after, Ratchet and Erika emerged from the restroom to be swarmed by the flashing cameras again. What more of a scandal could they find than seeing Rayne appear from the men's restroom using Ratchet as a crutch? What made it even worse was that her hair was a mess and her dress was nearly falling off. During battle she couldn't dodge that well due to the dress so she torn off the bottom half. Ratchet looked just as beat up. His jacket was no longer wearable because of the burn marks in it. You can only imagine how the press could twist this story around.

Mr. Xeno regained consciousness at the end of the fight. He saw the couple in distress by the press and wanted to help them. He was after all Mr. Xeno, one of the most respected men in the business, they would listen to him. He announced what they had done for him; by saving his life. He drug out a long speech about it too. During it, Ratchet and Erika had managed to sneak off without drawing attention.

Quinn did one of his magic acts again and appeared directly in front of them. He took her by her free arm, "shoes off, we have to run. They are giving us some extra time because of the attacks." And he swept her off without even saying goodbye.

=PB=

Ratchet was seated in a "special" area the awards people set up for him near the front of the stage. After saving Mr. Xeno's life they thought it was the least they could do. He sat alone though. Talwyn was being forced to be arm candy for Quark as he posed for pictures due to his "Heroic deed of stopping Courtney."

Quinn came up behind Ratchet and placed a small piece of paper on the table getting his attention. "Wardrobe staff said this fell on the ground when they were switching her clothes." He stared off onto the empty stage, not wanting to look Ratchet in the eye.

Ratchet picked it up to read it. It had two radio call numbers and coordinates. At the bottom four words were hand written, "Garden club. After show"

Quinn tilted his head to look down at Ratchet with deep concern. "Don't let her go by any means necessary." Then he simply walked away.

Not soon after, Mr. Xeno sat in the empty seat across the small table. "Well my boy, I appreciate the heroic act you did for me! You and Rayne both."

Ratchet continued to stare out at the empty stage and said emotionless, "You're welcome Mr. Xeno." It's not he had saved lives before. He just felt a bad vibe from this man. He couldn't explain it.

The house lights dimmed to show that the show was starting again. Quark, with Talwyn still on his arm, came down stage into the spotlight. Talwyn looked freaked out while up there. Her movements were jerky like as though Quark had to pull her up there. Ratchet hoped it was just stage fright and not something that happened backstage.

"Ladies and Gentleman! I, Capitan Quark, am proud to present the Grand Finale for tonight's amazing events!" It looked like quark was going to make another monologue about himself.

Talwyn say it coming and quickly stepped between him and the microphone, still with the frightened look on her face. "please welcome Rayne!" the words spilled out of her mouth better than Ratchet expected. She pushed Quark in front of her and quickly made it off stage.

The curtain behind them rose. Erika stood center stage with a large, majestic, black ball gown on. It had white beading on it that made a starry pattern on the torso. Her hair was pulled back in a messy up do, but her bangs still lied flat over her eye.

She was seen standing there short while, microphone in hand. She let out a small smile when the stage lights came on and the audience cheered. She took in a breath and sang with the music,

"_you know I can't take one more step towards you/ cause all that's waiting is regret"_

She took the rest in the music and her expression turned to a more depressed look."

"_and don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore/"_

That time she didn't continue singing. She let out a sigh with a small whisper to herself, "this song is too slow." The players behind her stopped confused, and the audience got incredibly quiet.

Erika looked out into the darkness of the house floor. Occasionally she would see a flash of light. She thought deeply for a few seconds, she turned her back to the audience who gasped. They thought she was leaving again.

A loud ripping sound bewildered everyone even more. Erika tore off most of the bottom of her Cinderella type dress. She dropped the excess material out into the darkness of the audience then faced one of the guitar players.

"let me see that." She half commanded half asked as she stuck a hand out. He handed it over and she wrapped it around herself. Erika looked at the other band members, "follow my lead." She strummed a fast paced tune and the audience listened

"What is she doing?" Mr. Xeno asked no one in particular.

Racthet smirked and replied still staring at her, "Putting on a show."

"_right right turn off the light/ we gonna lose our minds tonight/ what's the dealio?/ I love when it's all too much/ five a.m. turn the radio up/ where's the rock and roll?/ "_

Mr. Xeno leaned back in his chai, obviously impressed. "Well, she has got moxie. That's for sure."

"_Party crasher panty snatcha'/ call me up if you are gangsta'/ don't be fancy/ just get dancey/ why so serious?/ so raise your glass-!"_

=PB=

This has got to be one of my most favorite chapters yet. Just because it's a lot of music

Song one: Jar of hearts by Christina Perri

Song two: Raise Your Glass by P!nk


	19. Chapter 19

We just read _A Modest Proposal _in British literature class. I say ONE thing about it being a good idea (jokingly of course), and Libby now calls me "The baby eater." I got a blue sucker form art class and it made my mouth turn blue. So when she saw she said it looked like I ate a baby smurf. Why must I be condemned with this torture?

If you haven't read it yet, go do it now. It's just so… yeah.

=PB=

The crowd was left in excitement from Rayne's performance. She had gone backstage after and Ratchet waited for her by the exit. He smiled at the fact that almost everyone who was walking out held a wine glass and sang remembered parts of the song just played.

They loved every part of the show. Partway through it, Erika leapt off stage and snatched a glass full of wine. By the time she got back on the stage, she aimed the glass at the audience and launched the liquid into them. They didn't even mind the bad word she let slip when she dropped the glass and it shattered on the stage floor. It seemed to fit in with the song actually.

Soon Ratchet was the only guest left in the building. _Maybe she went out the back way?_ He thought. Outside Clank and Astra were talking to Talwyn and Quark standing next to Aphelion.

"Hey guys, where's Eri… uh… Rayne?" Ratchet realized some camera crew still hung back and he almost spilled her name while asking the question.

Astra spoke up, "I thought she was with you?"

Ratchet first thought that they were messing with him. But he looked at everyone's face and it was serious. Ratchet's stomach dropped. He knew exactly where she was, and Quinn wasn't going to like it.

"I need you to take the limos back," Ratchet said with worry and popped the glass above Aphelion's cockpit open, "I need to make a stop."

=PB=

The Garden Club was in a very dirty part of the galaxy. Surprisingly it turned out to be a very exclusive club. After landing Aphelion he looked around. Ratchet was right; Sinon was parked down the way.

A line wrapped around the shack that could pass as a manor. A large bouncer guarded the door. Ratchet began to worry about fighting him off in order to get to Erika, but the large creature took one look at the Lombax and happily let him in knowing he had relations with Rayne.

The music was loud and bombastic.

_There's a place downtown/ where the freaks all come around/ it's a whole in the wall/ it's a dirty free for all/_

The entire place was rocking back and forth to the music. People had glow sticks and bottles of booze while jerking out on the dance floor. Dancers hung from cages attached to the ceiling, private rooms had giggling men and women in them, and waitresses in very revealing outfits walked around with trays full of more alcoholic beverages for people to take free of charge. One offered Ratchet, but she mostly tried to flirt with him. He politely denied, for anything she offered in that case.

Eventually he spotted Mr. Xeno against the bar area behind the dance floor. He had one of his very large grins on his face.

"Alright Xeno! Where is she?" Ratchet shouted over the music

Mr. Xeno pointed straight ahead of him and sure enough, Erika was in the middle of a mosh pit. "She only had a couple of drinks then went wild! She is defiantly a party animal, I like that!"

Ratchet let out and exasperated grunt to Xeno's comment. He didn't say anything back but made his way over to Erika. He could hear her singing along with the woman who sang the song.

_There's a place I know/ if you're looking for a show/ where they go hard core/ and there's glitter on the floor/ and they turn me on/ when they take it off/ when they take it off/ everybody take it off/_

Ratchet got ahold of her arm and pulled her a bit closer to him. That's when he realized how smashed she really was. "Okay Rayne! Time to go home." Some people around them let out a few boos after he said it.

He pulled her behind him as he walked off the floor. It was almost impossible though. She would stumble over and then laugh so hard because she thought it was funny. He had to practically carry her out.

Mr. Xeno spotted them as they left and shouted out to them, "Remind her that if she ever wants to work with a real man in business, she is welcome to!"

=PB=

Ratchet loaded the unstable Erika into the passenger seat of aphelion. He got in on the other side and took off, but not before tethering Sinon to them. Erika slumped in her seat, and put her feet on the dash board (A/N: I guess it would be a dash board? It's a ship not a car I know but I don't know what else to call it).

"Ratchet you're such a good person…" she managed to slur out, "I think that's what Astra likes about you." Erika couldn't hold still, she messed with her hair and flip flopped in her seat. "That Astra… she gets annoying sometimes. Especially when she says stuff about me and you being Lombaxes and stuff."

Ratchet cocked his eyebrow to her impaired statement. "Really? What does she say?"

"Oh stuff like saving the Lombax race or something like that." Erika stopped squirming and blankly stared at her feet. The silence got awkward, at least to Ratchet it did. It seemed like Erika had no idea what she was saying.

She spoke up again in a loud voice breaking the silence, "where are we going?"

"I told you. Home." Ratchet said calmly looking forward into the nothingness of space.

"You mean to Talwyn and Quark and Clank and Astra?"

"Yes."

"No!" she shot up in her seat… almost. She still couldn't sit up straight due to her intoxication. "I can't… I can't let Astra see me like this. She'll be mad."

"You should have thought about that before running off."

"Please! Astra will see me… then she will tell Quinn, and then her and Quinn will be mad." She got up in his face and basically lied across him as she begged. What else could Ratchet do?

=PB=

This was another one of my favorite chapters just because of my dear friend Candy.

Candy has a little girl, and Candy likes to party. When Candy plans to go out, she calls me to baby sit. Not only do I baby sit her little girl, I end up babysitting Candy as well because she comes home blasted and needs assistance doing the basic needs like taking off her shoes.

By no means is Candy a bad mother, she just likes to party, and she only does it every several months. Come on, we all have friends like that. So that's why I dedicated this chapter to Candy, my best party friend.

Song: Take It Off by Ke$ha


	20. Chapter 20

*Enter story from author's life here*

I… just don't want to talk about this chapter until the end.

=PB=

Ratchet had Erika's arm around him so she could lean on him as they entered the hotel lobby. It wasn't a dump, but it wasn't a five star either.

"You make me feel like I'm livin a teenage dream," Erika half sang to music in her head. She didn't even try to sing in tune or in rhythm correctly. She let out a loud laugh and continued, "because baby you're a firework!" She obviously had gotten two songs mixed together, but she didn't care. The last word belted out in the lobby drawing attention to themselves.

Ratchet shushed her as they walked up to the lady behind the counter. She was not amused by Erika's "singing", actually she looked very annoyed. "Uh, we need a room." Ratchet said as politely as he could not to tick her off anymore.

Erika raised her hand in the air with her head tilted back and her hair blocking off her face, "Now!" she shouted. She dropped her head and started laughing again at nothing in particular. Ratchet jerked his head to her and waited to see if she was going to yell anything else out.

When she didn't, he turned his eyes back at the lady behind the desk and added a quick "Please." And he directed his attention back at Erika.

=PB=

Ratchet put the key card into the slot and quickly removed it deactivating the lock. The door slid open before them revealing a narrow hallway with a sink at one side, and a door leading to a bathroom on the other. The room got wider at the end where two beds were perfectly made with the tacky hotel sheets and covers.

Erika let go of Ratchet, who had to drag her up three flights of stairs, and stumbled inside, still humming a familiar tune. She almost fell a few times but she caught herself on the wall. Eventually she made it to the closest bed and flopped onto it face first. The ball gown she ripped up still wrapped around her body along with boots that resembled the one's she had on before, but these were black. All the ruffles underneath the dress made it almost look like a tutu and bounced when she landed.

Ratchet, in wonder of how she made it to the other side of the room stumbling in the death trap of shoes she wore, walked over to the foot of her bad and sat down. He took one of her shoes and began to untie it.

Erika started to sing again, "Shush girl, shut your lips. Do the Helen Keller, and talk with your hips." She repeated it over and over again laughing in between randomly. All the while Ratchet struggled over the crisscross pattern the boot laces made going up her ankle.

He promptly managed to get the second one off when Erika's slurred speech from the pillow she buried her head in changed from the giggly song, "Can… can you go get Sinon and bring me clothes?"

It sounded nonsensical yes, but Ratchet understood her anyway. "Yeah." He gently said to her in response.

He returned some minuets later and again opened the door to the room. Inside the first thing he noticed was Erika halfway out the small window that was across from the beds.

"Hey!" Ratchet ran across the room over to her. He grabbed at her waist and pulled her back in, "What are you doing?"

She fought back, swinging her arms and legs around to get away, much like she did before when he was on his hover boots. "Let me go! Let me…" the rest on the sentence was taken up by grunts of agony.

Ratchet set her feet back on the floor and spun her around to look at her. She had sobered up a bit since the club. _Quinn was right, don't let her drink._ Ratchet thought.

Erika broke down, "Please don't hurt me." She didn't look at him. Lose hair covered her face. Ratchet studied her with concern. She still wasn't herself, and she wouldn't be until she completely sobered up like Quinn said.

He set her on the foot of the bed, "Now why would I hurt you?" he asked trying to talk her through this. He stood in front of her, fixated on her amethyst eyes.

Apparently it worked more than Ratchet intended it to. "Because last time I was like this, Ace raped me." It was painful for her to say, but she did anyway. Not only was she now talking to someone about it, she was able to admit that she was raped by using the word. Erika began to cry as haunted memories filled her mind.

Ratchet had never seen her like this, not even the first night when she told him. She had toughed through that. Now she acted, as Quinn put it, like a child. He never wanted to see her like this again. "I'm nothing like Ace. Ace is gone. No one is going to hurt you now."

She didn't look at him. Ratchet took his hand and lifted her chin so she would. Her eyes seemed lost now, like she still couldn't believe. "How do you know he's gone?"

"You said it yourself, he's dead."

"Yeah, but how do you know?" she demanded. The slight intoxication remained, but it was still in control. Her body shook, and Ratchet could almost read her mind. It was like she didn't believe he was dead.

Her crying slowed to almost a stop. Ratchet took his time answering. He knew what he had to say, but Quinn reminded him about how she might react. At this point, anything could have happened with her. Her expression switched to anger. He was spending too much time answering.

"Well… because" he stuttered on the words, "I was the one who killed him."

He waited for some outlandish reaction, but it never came. She just gaped at him, letting time slip by.

"Y-you?" she eventually was capable to whisper. Ratchet moved his head up and down, allowing Erika's eyes to follow its motion. She blinked a few times and glanced away from him, pushing hair out of her face and into a ball her fist made. "I need water." Her voice cracked as she spoke.

"Let me get it." Ratchet uttered and moved quickly away from her to the sink afraid she might pass out if he didn't get it to her soon. It was dark, and the only light came from the moon through the window which was now closed.

After a few moments of him searching, Ratchet found a refrigerator below the sink stocked full of beverages. He pulled out two bottles and pivoted on his heal back the way he came. "Sparkling or spri…"

It wasn't that he didn't want to finish the sentence, it was that he couldn't. As he turned around, Erika crept up behind him, grabbed his face, and pulled together until their lips met. Ratchet's eyes got wide as he tried to step back. She wouldn't let him go. Instead he pressed their lips together harder. He glanced down and saw her eyes closed. He could feel her tail wrap around his leg, begging to intertwine with his.

Erika pulled back to look up at him, breathing deeply as she took in air. She still held onto him, still close to him as he would allow. They gazed at each other, motionless, for a long amount of time. They both moved at the same time, breaking the nothingness.

Erika pulled his face back to hers. Ratchet dropped both bottles to the floor with a thud. As Erika kissed him, he closed his eyes and his, now free, hands chained around her waist holding her close.

=PB=

: )

"songs": Teenage Dream by Katy Perry, Firework by Katy Perry, Don't Trush Me by 3OH!3


	21. Chapter 21

Home from Solo and Ensemble early. Listened to music ALL DAY. Feet hurt. Scores weren't that good :/ Tonya's dress wouldn't fit her, so she was uncomfortable the entire time. She kept making comments about just wanting to be home naked. Then she stole one of the signs that said, "Shhh… Quite zone" and taped it to her tummy while walking around telling people to shush. Yeah… my friends are strange.

That relates in later.

And strangely enough, they were choir kids this time, not bandies.

=PB=

Erika regained consciousness too early in the morning. Her eyes stayed shut, but the feeling of pain overwhelmed her, and the massive hangover was the cause of it. She moved her arm to rub her temple, but something felt odd. Warmth wrapped around her body and she could feel that she was lying on something fuzzy.

She slowly opened her eyes that had to adjust to the moon light that shined over her. Just as she could see, she knew what had happened. Erika lied beside Ratchet with her head on his chest. The warmth was coming from his arm that held her. The last small detail that she almost missed… they were both completely _naked._

Erika wasn't surprised. She knew what she had done. But did she regret it? She didn't know, she couldn't think due to the pain. She needed shower time (A/N: when you stand in the shower just because it's warm, or something like that).

Gradually, Erika unhooked his arm and got out of the bed without waking Ratchet up. It was difficult to stand up. Dizziness and pain filled her head. She finally forced her mind to concentrate hard enough to stand up.

Looking around the room was like a horror show. Remains of her dress were scattered everywhere. She couldn't remember exactly, but Ratchet must have torn her dress off, literally. Looking around a bit more, she could see his clothes still intact, but they still spread around the room.

One of Ratchet's gadgets sat in the floor beside her. She could see a shiny 600 flashing on it indicating it was 6 a.m. recalling last night's events, they got to the hotel around midnight, and then spent a few more hours awake. They couldn't have gotten more than three hours of sleep so far. Erika knew she should just crawl back into bed and sleep her hangover away, but she didn't want too.

Erika walked over to the bathroom that was right next to the front door. She saw her spare clothes that she placed in Sinon, in a pile in front of it. The foggy memory of her asking out loud for someone to fetch them replayed in her mind. She thought it must have been Ratchet she asked, and figured he threw them down when he walked in and saw her leaning out the window.

He overreacted with that. She wasn't trying to jump or runaway or anything, she just wanted some air. She opened it and the cool breeze collided with her body. It felt nice, and so she stuck her head out to breathe it in and feel the coolness out it.

At that point, she was lost in the calmness of the wind and didn't hear Ratchet shouting at her. When he took her from behind, it scared her. Flashbacks of the night with Ace raced around her mind, and she remembered that this is how she felt before it happened. She didn't know what was going on, that Ratchet was pulling her back in, and she fought back. She wouldn't have if she knew it was Ratchet, but she wasn't in control of herself.

Erika shook the thoughts out of her mind. Ratchet knew that wasn't the real her. So there was no need to think about it. She picked up her clothes and scampered into the bathroom.

=PB=

She didn't know how much time had passed, and she didn't care really. It couldn't have been long though. Erika just rested in the shower, letting the hot water to warm her. She faced upward and stepped forward to allow the water to cover her face.

After a good stretch of time passed, she came back to take in air. She lifted her hands to her face to wipe away the water and something chained around her waist, something soft and comforting. Her peripheral vision saw Ratchet place his chin on her shoulder. It was his arms that again held on to her.

She was surprised that she didn't hear him open to door, but she didn't bother turning around. She just sat there, staring at nothing but a blank wall. Ratchet did the same. It felt right to her, both of them together in silence just thinking.

Sadly, reality hit her and Erika cringed from the migraine from her hangover. She clenched her teeth and eyes as she brought up her hand to massage the pain.

"Hung-over?" ratchet asked keeping his voice hushed and low to prevent even more pain.

"Yeah" her voice was broken. It hurt her throbbing head to listen to herself speak rather than to listen to Ratchet's. "I'll be okay though. I want you to go back to bed. I'll need you to drive and I don't want you too tired from lack of sleep." The pain increased with each pause she took.

Erika reached over and shut off the water. She expected to feel that shock of cold air that hits after a shower, but it didn't happen. Ratchet hadn't let go. He still held on allowing their body heat to keep each other warm. Erika liked it, but she knew she didn't want it. She didn't want to _want_ that feeling.

A few moments of the sound of dripping water passed. Erika included her own voice into the rhythmically pattern of the sound, "Ratchet, please." She said in a soft tone.

Ratchet didn't want to fight with her. Her hangover would make it bad, eventually leading to him losing. Plus he could see she needed room to breathe for a while. He inched his way out of the shower and back to bed. The whole time he thought _what are you doing idiot? Go back to her, comfort her._ But he imagined he already comforted her as much as he could the few hours before hand.

=PB=

So yeah, naked shower scene for Tonya since she likes to walk around her house naked all the time. Spending 13 hours with someone really lets you get to know that person, especially information you didn't really want to know.

To be honest, I already had this chapter planned out. Tonya just inspired me to mix it in. note to readers: the next time I talk about competing in an entire days worth of Solo and Ensemble contests, talk me out of it… I'm begging you.


	22. Chapter 22

So yeah, this chapter is one of the hardest ones I have done. My mind kind of went off a little. But this is the second to last chapter in this story, and I guarantee you there will be a sequel.

=PB=

Erika occupied the spot in front of the mirror, peering at her reflection. Her bangs hung over her eyes still dripping wet. Her white mid-sleeve shirt caught the moisture that fell from her hair. Her black pants tucked into her polished black boots that matched her gloves on the sink.

She began to reflect on the past few days events. So much had changed. Before, she was in struggle with her sanity as she strived to survive daily attacks by beasts that were ten times larger than her. The only reason she didn't go completely insane was because of Astra. Now, she had gotten her dream of building her own starship off the hated planet, gotten wild at two parties, and finally got past the incident with Ace. Was this what she wanted?

She defiantly didn't want to go back to how things were, but she also felt something wrong with the way things were now. Astra had finally found someone to spend time with, and she didn't want to take that away from her by having Astra follow her around as Erika looked for something to do with her life. But she also did not want to stay here with every one. Would she be a burden on them? Plus she already felt like she had been tied down before and she didn't want to go back.

The one thing she felt most guilty about was Ratchet. All he wanted to do was help and she pushed him out of the way. She made him fight his way to get to know her, even after the story about how he was told he was the last Lombax and how he lost the one he found. There were so many questions that needed answered, should she be the one to find them?

Erika spent a good amount of time thinking about what she should do. Then it hit her. She knew what she had to do, what she _wanted_ to do. The Lombax tilted her head back to see her face with a brand new confidence and an evil smile.

=PB=

Ratchet awoke sometime close to noon. He hadn't realized how exhausted Erika made him from their "adventure" last night. He rolled over expecting Erika to be at his side, but she wasn't. Curious, he slowly sat up.

The room was cleaner that it was a few hours ago. His clothes no longer strung across the room, but curled into a small pile at his feet. It was also very quiet for his liking. He dressed himself and noticed the shreds of Erika's dress in a near by trash can. _Erika must have cleaned up._

Something felt off. He glanced down and he was missing his Nav-unit, again. Ratchet made a little sigh and glanced around the room. The bathroom light glowed against the wall across from it. Thinking that Erika had taken it again, he snuck his way over to the door and poked his head around.

Surprisingly, Erika was not in there. What was even more surprising to him was the large mess all over the bathroom. Her hair sat in piles of strands on the sink. Black color was smeared on the walls and tub, and Ratchet could smell the chemical components of hair dye. That must have been the black coloring. The last thing he noticed was something on the mirror. It was a note folded and taped up with a crudely drawn heart on it. He took it down, opened it, and read it out loud:

_Sorry to run out on you like this hairball but I have no more time to waste. We have too many questions left unanswered and, Orvus knows why, but I need to go out and find them. I'm going out on my own, so take care of Astra for me. And before you ask, no, Mr. Xeno does NOT know where I am. I left Rayne, Rayne is dead. Oh, and my apologies for the mess I left. I hope you're not too angry for covering the cost of that.  
Apologize to Astra for me and tell Talwyn she was right about the Lombax technology in Sinon._

_Luv, Erika_

Ratchet paused for a moment to take it all in. he knew he had seen this somewhere before. The story of leaving someone for the better seemed like a common theme. Then it recalled to his mind. Alistar Azimuth had done the same. Even in the same form, a letter. Ratchet never did get to tell Erika about the discovery he made, even though Alistar asked against it. Maybe there was a way he could find her, to tell her. After all, he did it once before by pure luck.

While in mid-thought, Ratchet spotted more of her familiar handwriting on the bottom of the page:

_P.S. I took your Nav-unit_

He knew that all along it was just something he wasn't that upset about. Then realized something _I know how I can find her._ Ratchet sprang out of the room, down the lobby, and beside Aphelion.

"Aphelion!" he huffed almost out of breath. "I need you to tap into my Nav-unit system and find the location of its user."

Aphelion started to do as instructed and the light, high pitched tone from her computer filled the air. He waited patently over hanging his ship. It was taking longer that usual. Ratchet figured she must have gotten pretty far if it was taking this long to track her down.

The noise had gone and the area around them went silent. Aphelion took a good moment before speaking up and scaring Ratchet out of his fur, "That's odd. Your Nav-unit system could not be found."

"What?" he wasn't asking Aphelion the question, he was just trying to figure out what happened. If she took it he should have been able to trace it. Ratchet looked down at the letter she left, it never left his hand. Maybe he misread something or got her hand writing confused.

No, he reread it over several times and it still told the same information. Now ratchet was more confused than ever, Erika was right, they did have questions that needed answered. The light made the note somewhat transparent and Ratchet could see lettering on the back. He flipped it over and immediately spotted the word "HA!" written very large and in marker to make it bold. Above it was more writing:

_P.S.S. did you really think I would take your Nav-unit without taking into fact that you could track me with it? Well, don't try it. I already changed the hardware so you couldn't._

=PB=

Ha Ha Ha Ha she tricked him. It almost makes me want to smile inside. But I will admit, this last chapter was hell to write. I have one more coming up so be patient.

And what she said "Orvus knows why" take it into meaning like "God knows why" just a sarcastic saying almost.


	23. Chapter 23

D: … I feel so stupid… .com/watch?v=GFKL8Kafidg&feature=feedf If you go to that link, it is a news report from Ratchet and Clank CiT. its on Youtube, i have no idea why that part wont pop up.

You know, just cruisin around in Aphelion, flipping thru the radio then BAM! You hear it. Don't ask me how I missed it the first time, but when I started playing on hard I just so happened to hear it and I freaked out, literally. I felt like crying…

Everything I wrote here has been a lie…. Just like the cake! I love you Insomniac, but when you put details in a game that are so small, it ticks me off. Now I bet I know the entire story for the next game!

On the bright side, I got around to watching Tangled… that made me cry too.

=PB=

Astra was upset, mostly at Ratchet. It wasn't a crying upset either. Her reaction was more of I'm-going-to-kill-you upset. Clank did his best to hold her back, "Let me go! I'm going to rip those fuzzy, little, ears off and mount them above a fireplace!"

Ratchet hadn't told _everything_ that happened, but he said most of it. He left out the details about Ace. Astra still didn't know about that incident, and he figured it was better if it stayed that way. After seeing her reaction with everything else, he was afraid she might dig up his grave or something.

Astra pushed and pushed to get to Ratchet, but Clank was stronger than he looked. Eventually she felt it was a failed attempt, and gave up falling into Clank's chest. It was obvious her motherly instincts over Erika were showing. Astra wanted to cry, but she knew it was going to happen sooner or later. "Erika talked like that sometimes, about running off by herself. For some odd reason she felt she was being a burden on me."

"Um… guys," Talwyn interjected. Her attention was focused on the Holo-vision, "you might want to watch this." She didn't say it in a reassuring way. Talwyn looked like she was about to cry.

Ratchet was very concerned and looked from Talwyn to Clank, who had the same worried expression as Ratchet. All this depression just added on to Astra's mood. She wasn't sure how much more she could take, but made her way next to Talwyn along with the two boys.

"_Just hours after the amazing performance by the newly discovered Rayne, tragedy hits the ShowBiz world." The female reporter on television looked just as sad as everyone else. "Gruesome images of living organism remains behind me are believed to be hers."_

Astra let out a large, shaky, gasp and nearly fell over. Clank caught her before she landed on the floor. She didn't pass out, but she felt sick from the news she heard made her legs give way.

_Men in the background where moving shovel piles of blood and guts behind the news reporter without her realizing it, "We don't know exactly what happened, but we assure you it is not a sight for Holo-vision. Rayne was last seen with her date Ratchet at an exclusive club named __The Garden club. __Mr. Xeno himself reports on seeing them"_

_The camera cuts to a scene with Mr. Xeno speaking into a microphone. Tears stream down his face, but no one could tell if they were real, or if his years of hanging around the acting crowd kicked in. "No, Ratchet couldn't have done anything to her. They where very happy together, and He looked out for her all the time. They were the one couple I could see living through anything together."_

_The reporter is shown on camera again. Now she has tears running down her face. "I-I believe that as well Mr. Xeno." The news reporter looked away from the camera to wipe away the tears with her sleeve. She took in a deep breath and began to speak once again, "Now, Ratchet does have an alibi. A young woman who works in a hotel lobby said she saw the Lombax leave hours before Ratchet checked out. Also, according to the hotel records, Ratchet checked out at the time of death for our young superstar. He could not have been in two places at once."_

Talwyn couldn't help it. She busted out in tears, covering her sobs with her hands. Clank was attempting to comfort Astra, but if he could cry, he would have. "Erika is… dead?" Astra managed to choke out.

Ratchet didn't believe a word that the news said. She was too strong to be killed, and not the type of person who would… he shook the thought out of his mind. He took out the pocket watch and found the memoirs he had of her, the picture, the letters from the General, and finally the note she had left for him.

"No," Ratchet whispered loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. "Rayne is dead. They never said Erika was."

Everyone wanted to look up at him like he had gone crazy. But when they saw how serious he was about his theory, they couldn't help but to agree with him.

=PB=

Courtney Gears paced her prison cell while Alphonse sat across from her waiting patently on a bench. "That big lummox is going to pay!" Courtney was obviously talking about Captain Quark, "Along with those rats Rayne and Ratchet." She grumbled to herself. Alphonse just stayed quite, like normal.

"Right Alphonse?" Courtney directed her attention to him. She had that crazy look in her eyes, "revenge will be ours!" she screamed to the ceiling.

"Not quite Miss Gears." The familiar voice said surprising her. A figure in a dark cloak with a hood that covered her eyes stood on the other side of the cell bars.

Courtney leaned against the wall almost in relief, "So, he sent for Madam to bail us out. Nice." The one phone call the authorities allowed was given to Alphonse, who called Madam.

Madam looked at the officer who unlocked the doors. They were rusty and slid open with a clang. "Come along Alphonse. Your job is finished." Madam said very calmly.

Alphonse let out a large sigh, "About damn time!" he said with a completely different tone than Courtney grew to know. "I wasn't sure how much more I could take of that brat's whining." He got on his feet and walked out of the cell.

Courtney was right behind him confused and mad, "What? Why you… hey!" the officer slammed the cell door in Courtney's face, then walked away (probably to get back to his nap he was taking before they interrupted him).

"Oh, did I mention? I only agreed to pay enough to bail one of you out." Madam said in a gloating accent.

"Where's the money we agreed on Madam?" Alphonse said in a very bad-mannered tone. He got close like he was attempting to threaten her, "We had a deal."

"You have a ride outside waiting for you. In the backseat is the money we agreed on." She said showing not a hint of fear.

Alphonse smiled and made his way out to the promised vehicle. Madam followed but was interrupted by Courtney who was going on an angry rampage, "What? We had a deal too Madam...!"

"Which you failed to comply to!" Madam replied with a hiss and overlooked Courtney.

Courtney was frozen with fear, "W-what?" she asked quietly after a gulp.

"Your stunt with the explosives. That is the reason you are locked up. We agreed nothing on that." Madam took a step back and calmed down, "Now, I have too many pressing matters to deal with besides you." Madam turned her back to Courtney as she stepped away.

"No way!" Courtney managed to gather her strength to shout at her, "What could be more important that me?"

Madam looked over her shoulder with the cloak still hiding her eyes in its shadows. She gave a smirk, "Lots of things, but to be specific, the one thing that has out shined you for the past three days. The one thing that has drove you to your down fall and eventually, to the loss of your sanity… Rayne" Madam said her name so slow, that is was like stabbing Courtney with a knife. That was the blow that made Courtney screaming in a rage, and Madam left her there with and evil laugh.

=PB=

It's finished! This was the last chapter! Part two will be out soon… maybe. And I'll think of a better title for it too.

Thanks for reading ;)


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